Earn This
by Tell-Tale Toga
Summary: "D-Don't you dare slow down, do you hear me? Don't let this... let this," As he fought the encompassing darkness, Bakugou growled and dug his nails into Midoriya's arm. "Earn it." The fading hero's death grip tightened for an instant and pulled the green-haired boy close. Bakugou's sharp, ragged breath against his ear and finally a tearful, shakey whisper, "Earn this."
1. Chapter 1

"Kirishima. Psst. Kiri- oi, shit hair!" Bakugou lightly smacked the back of his red-haired friend's head.

Finally looking up from his phone, Kirishima jerked around in his seat so that his body faced the aisle and his head was turned to look at the ill-tempered blonde. "The hell, Bakugou? What's your deal?"

Bakugou wore a bored expression as answered by lazily sticking his index finger out to point at their teacher who stood at the front of the classroom.

"So, Kirishima?" Aizawa spoke in his stereotypical, vaguely annoyed monotone. "You care to answer the question I just asked or would you rather share with the class whatever it is that's on your phone that is _**clearly**_ more interesting than Japanese Hero History."

As was typical for the not-quite-lackluster student, his first instinct was to panic and try to seem less panicked by shouting, which just came off as further panic. "What? No, sir! I was just… the answer is… er, I uh…"

His gaze darted around the room for absolutely any help. Midoriya, who was looking down and scribbling something when Kirishima first looked up, then held his notebook discreetly as possible at an angle that Kirishima could read it.

The words, _Los Angeles, California_ were hastily scribed in large letters across the paper.

"Uhhhh… Los Angeles, California?" Kirishima grinned sheepishly.

"Hmph," Aizawa frowned before turning back to the board. "Put the phone away, kid, or you won't be getting it back until the end of the day.

The red-haired boy sighed in relief and regret as he followed direction and slipped his phone into his bag. He cast his gaze over to Midoriya, offered a grateful smirk and thumbs up, which the green-haired boy happily returned.

The instant the lunch bell rang, Kirishima's phone was swiped out again and his focus was entirely out of touch with reality until Bakugou kicked his chair.

"Ey, you gonna come eat or just stare at your phone the whole lunch break?" The red-eyed, hero-in-training asked. He stood beside his friend's desk, with one backpack strap over his shoulder.

It took Kirishima ten extra seconds than Bakugou considered acceptable before the hardening-quirked student acknowledged him. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm comin'. Be right behind ya."

A low, irritated growl rumbled from the depths of Bakugou's throat. "Whatever," he sounded more depleted than actually mad as he scoffed and walked away.

Having watched this exchange from the corner of his eye, Midoriya slipped out of the conversation he had only partially been part of between Iiya, Ochako and Yaoyorozu. He snatched his bag and hustled out into the hall. "Kacchan, wait up!" He called.

Of course, Bakugou did not wait up, but he also didn't tell Midoriya to go fuck himself either, sooo… progress! When Midorita reached his most temperamental peer, he hesitated to speak, unsure as to why or what he was even doing.

"What do you want?" Bakugou asked stiffly.

Midoriya recoiled slightly, but kept pace with Bakugou. "Well, nothing really. I guess I was just gonna ask if you and Kirishima are like… fighting or something?" Midoriya braced himself for a torrent of rage that did not come to pass.

Bakugou just shrugged, "Nah, he's just more of an idiot than usual right now because of his new fuckin' girlfriend."

Surprised, Midoriya's eyes widened and his voice climbed in volume, "Kirishima has a girlfriend?"

"Mm," Bakugou grunted. "Not exactly sure how you've missed that. It's been pretty much all he's been talking about lately."

"I don't know, I guess… I guess I've just been preoccupied what with finals coming up. I'm afraid I've been sort of blocking all things non-hero related out unintentionally." When Bakugou didn't say anything, Midoriya readjusted his backpack and smiled. "So Kirishima's got a girlfriend. Good for him!"

"Sure, if he doesn't do anything stupid or start failing or some shit on account of her."

Midoriya walked with Bakugou in silence for a few strides. He took a moment to muse and appreciate how mellow Bakugou had been ever since the night they fought for real. He was still crass and unkind and there were days his explosive temper still flared, but a definitive change **had** occurred.

"It sounds like you don't really like her," Midoriya decided to test the waters and see how long the two of them could hold an actual conversation. "Have you met her already?" He figured there was about a 50% chance his attempt would backfire.

It didn't.

"Yeah," Bakugou grumbled.

Yet.

"She's not a student at UA, is she?" Midoriya asked.

"No." Bakugou entered the cafeteria and let the door fall to a close behind him, nearly smacking Midoriya. "She's an American exchange student that goes to a nearby high school. She's not impressive."

"Kirishima seems to think so," Midoriya gently reminded.

Evidently that was the trigger. Bakugou's glare shot at Midoriya with every drop of animosity the green-haired boy had grown accustomed to from those intense red eyes. "The fuck does he know? For that matter, the fuck makes you think you know anything, huh?"

The expected outburst still caused Midoriya to wince away from the blonde boy's reach. Still, he wasn't mentally or emotionally surprised. "You're right, Kacchan. Sorry." He nodded calmly. "I guess I'll see you in class." With that, he grabbed his lunch and made for the table he, Iida, and Ochako usually shared.

"'Ey, Deku." Bakugou's surly voice prompted Midoriya to turn entirely around on his heel to face his rival.

"Y-Yeah, Kacchan?"

"Thanks." He paused. "You know."

He didn't actually, but he wasn't about to ruin this magnanimous moment. "Uhh… sure. Anytime." He said with a cringey and uncertain smile.

With that Bakugou carried his lunch across the room and sat alone. Not for long, of course. Despite his unyielding, cantankerous attitude, Katsuki Bakugou never had a shortage of followers who called themselves friends.

Midoriya watched from a distance as he had done all their lives. A relieved smile tugged on the corners of his mouth as his childhood friend was not left alone after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**=Bakugou's Phone=**

_Kirishit-hair created a group with you._

_Kirishit-hair added DekU, Uravity, ChargeBOLT, Shoto, Inviz-Gurl, and EPjack._

_Kirishit-hair changed his nickname to RR._

_You changed your named to Ground Zero._

_RR changed the color of your chat. Aka._

_RR named the group COOLafPEEPS._

_You changed the name of the group to RRISAMORON._

**RR**: dude

_You set the group to night mode._

_You changed the color of the group. Orenji._

**RR**: k thnx 4 that. U done?

**Uravity**: Uhmmm, guys? What's up?

_You changed the group emoji. _💥

**RR**: ANYWAY! so my gf wants 2 come by the dorms 2nite n hang out. U down?

**EPjack**: Finals?

**RR**: start day after 2morrow. we've crammed 4 weeks. time 2 let loose b4 the storm.

**EPjack**: pretty sure that's not the saying, but whatevs. I'll hang for a few.

**Shoto**: Pass.

**Inviz-Gurl**: I'll come if Jiro does. ^_^

**DekU**: Aren't visitors prohibited after hours?

**RR**: hence y ingenium n creati were carefully left out.

**DekU**: Ugh. I'll try. I can't promise anything. I am not feeling great about where I am in regards to being ready for the written portion of the final.

**ChargeBOLT**: I could use a break. Plus I wanna see this "gf" of RR's.

**RR**: ;(

**Shoto**: What tf does that even mean? Winky sad face?

**RR**: Baku! U comin bro?

_Shoto left the group._

**You**: Whatever. I guess.

**RR**: sweet! Urarararara?

**Uravity**: Wow. Clever, Kirishima. But yeah, IDK. I am in the same place as Deku. Depends on where in at in my studies tonight. Hard maybe?

**RR**: k. be quiet n come by mine around 10. dnt let ING n creati c u, k?

=/=

Bakugou didn't know what he was doing, but before he could talk himself out of it he was at Midoriya's dorm room. He couldn't quite being himself to knick. His arm lifted and his hand was balled into a fist, but that last step, that rapping motion from his wrist would not work.

The blonde hero's jaw clenched as his arm just hung there for far longer than was comfortable. He was just about to bring it down when the door opened. His eyes widened slightly, but Midoriya let out a startled shriek and leapt backwards into his room before fully processing the situation.

"Kacchan?" He took a deep breath and leaned his weight on the door knob. "You scared me! What are you doing? Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk," Bakugou shouldered past Midoriya and entered the childishly decorated room.

With a faint smile on his lips and an uneasy chuckle in his voice, the green-haired boy joked, "Not about this quirk of mine I hope, heh." He shut the door and added awkwardly, "You know, cause the last time you said th-"

"Yeah, I get it." Bakugou interrupted but not aggressively. Just… tired. "And no, this has nothing to do with your quirk."

Remaining next to the door, Midoriya gently rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Okay… so what's up?"

"I'm pissed off."

"Really?"

Bakugou glared at him.

"I-I'm serious. You just… don't really seem mad. You're usually more..." Midoriya made claws with his hands and twisted his expression to the most exaggerated rage he could muster; and just for good measure he added a timid, "rawr."

Bakugou's glower intensified for a moment, but despite himself, he scoffed and had trouble suppressing the slightest amused smirk. "You idiot."

This version of Bakugou was terrifying. Just because Midoriya was beginning to realize that his ability to predict the violent outbursts was getting faultier and faultier. Of all the countless ways Bakugou could have reacted just now, the last thing Midoriya anticipated was a smothered smirk.

Catching it though made him smile too. "Anyway, does this have to do with Kirishima and his girlfriend coming over?"

Bakugou knew he shouldn't have been surprised. The observant little shit was always figuring things out before most others. "Yeah," he answered gruffly, showing no signs of being impressed. "What the fuck is he thinking? He's going to get himself on house arrest and that's best case scenario, you know? He's being stupid and irresponsible."

"Kacchan," Midoriya didn't mean to, but a laugh floated out of him. "He's just in love. Give him a break."

Something changed about Bakugou's entire demeanour and tone. His eyes looked pained, but just for an instant before darkening. "Did he say that?"

Suddenly feeling very unsafe, Midoriya shrunk, tightening his shoulders and bowing his head slightly. "Well, I mean, no, but-"

"Then why the fuck would you even suggest that? He's not… he hasn't even…" Bakugou looked at his fist as he curled his arm and made tiny explosions in his hand. Before Midoriya could suggest calming down, Bakugou closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Suddenly that rage which had just been at risk of exploding, it simmered and seemed to just roll right off Bakugou's back. He reopened his eyes and spoke calmly, "I don't trust her, Deku. I can't explain it, but there's something about her."

"Oh," Midoriya looked as though the last piece of a puzzle came together in his mind. "Okay, well, did something happen to make you feel this way?"

Shaking his head, Bakugou looked thoughtful and almost pensive. "Like I said, it's not really something I can explain. I just… have this feeling and I need someone else to be on alert tonight. I really think something… something bad is going to happen with her here."

"Do you think we should bring it to Iida or Aizawa?"

"No." Bakugou answered flat and simple. "I'm not gonna be a narc. We are fine, Deku. I just wanna know I've got back up if the night goes up in smoke."

Midoriya debated on whether or not replying instinctively would be a good idea. This new Kacchan was so damn difficult to read. _Eh_, he thought. _Why not? What's he gonna do? Threaten to murder me for the 800th time?_

"I'll always have your back, Kacchan." he declared without a hint of hesitation. Midoriya sounded less sure of himself in the second half of his declaration. "Just like I know you'll always have mine."

Those red eyes stared at him for a long time before another scoff left Bakugou. "Yeah, whatever." He muttered as he walked across the room and reached around Midoriya for the door. "Just be ready for anything tonight, got it?"

Midoriya nodded, "Mhm. Got it."


	3. Chapter 3

She was… certainly American.

Though she spoke an impressive range of Japanese, Kirishima's girlfriend was clearly a visitor from abroad. For starters, she claimed that Ramune was the coolest thing ever and she brought three cases to share. "I know it's kinda lame to bring soda instead of booze toba party, but isn't this stuff awesome?" The girlfriend laughed.

Secondly, she called everyone by their first name right away and insisted on the same. Hers was Valerie. Valerie DeLisle.

"But you guys can call me Val!" She proclaimed, grinning. "That's what my friends call me and any friends of Eijiro are my friends, too."

Midoriya couldn't help but glance at Bakugou when she said that. The blonde student didn't say anything but he didn't have to. The sneer on his face was telling enough.

"So, uh… Valerie," Midoriya cleared his throat, "how did you and Kirishima meet?"

While Kirishima's face turned a distinct shade of red to match his hair, Valerie grinned madly. "Oh, that's such a funny story actually." She laughed, "Do you want to tell it, baby?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, looking rather uneasy, Kirishima answered honestly. "Not… really, to be honest."

Valerie pouted. Both her arms slipped around her boyfriend's arm as she playfully said, "Oh come on." Her tone shifted slightly to one noticeably more assertive when she added, "Tell them how we met."

In an instant Kirishima lost all hesitation. His shyness and reservations drifted out of him and were replaced with a fervent tell tale attitude. As expected the story had an edge of humor at his own expense, having bumped into her when he accidentally ran into the girls bathroom.

But while the others all listened and laughed at the story, Midoriya couldn't help but find Kirishima's change in behavior a bit strange. He cast a glance over at Bakugou who wore an expression that screamed, "See what I fuckin' mean? There's something up with this chick!"

Despite no actual words being exchanged, Midoryia nodded to Bakugou. He had heard the term 'whipped' before, but that did not even begin to cover it. Everything about Kirishima's shift in behavior was weird. It was almost mechanical. So much so that Midoriya internally wondered how the others didn't notice.

Midoriya's thoughts ran away with him as they always did. He was aware enough to keep from muttering out loud over his theories. The most obvious one was to suspect a quirk. Maybe she had some kind of mind control quirk? Then again maybe Kirishima was just that weak-willed when it came to women.

The green-haired boy turned his attention back to the circle of friends. Ochako and Jiro sat at the end of the bed while Kirishima and Valerie sat at the head with their back to the wall. Kirishima's arm was proudly wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulder. If that was mind control, it certainly didn't seem to bother Kirishima afterwards. He looked so happy. His unguarded grin twisted Midoriya's stomach. He felt awful for jeopardizing or even questioning the legitimacy of that kind of smile.

While the others were having a grand old time getting to know Valerie, asking her questions about America and what not, Midoriya joined Bakugou who had not stepped too far from the door.

Arms crossed, he asked in a low voice. "You saw it too, huh?"

"I did." Midoriya faced away from the group, opposed to Bakugou. His voice barely raised above a whisper. "I don't know for sure what I saw though. I mean, that could just be the dynamic of their relationship."

Bakugou didn't even try disguising his aggravation. "You know for someone who's supposed to be a nerd, you can be so stupid."

"Kacchan," Midoriya looked at his friend with deep concern.

"Whatever, forget it." Bakugou glared away from the group in front of him and the deku beside him. "Just go. It's not out of the ordinary if I'm anti-social but the longer you avoid the others, it's gonna draw attention."

At that moment Midoriya felt a great sense of confliction. Yes, he wanted Valerie ro be genuine for Kirishima's sake. But at the same time, he had so enjoyed the idea of working with Bakugou.

It really felt like they were continuing bridging the gap that had formed between them over the years. It felt like they were truly mending and moving forward. If they weren't working together on this hunch of Bakugou's, it felt like a step backwards.

_There'll be other opportunities_, Midoroya told himself. _We've got time._

With that positive perspective, Midoriya did as Bakugou insisted and rejoined the group. He walked up alongside Kiminari, gaining the electricity-quirked hero-in-training.

"Everything alright with Bakugou?" He asked, more curious than concerned.

"You know I can fuckin' hear you, Pikachu."

That less covert exchange snagged Kirishima's attention. "Hey guys, stop being creepers. Come over here, we're gonna play spin the bottle."

Refusing to move from his spot next to the door, Bakugou kept his arms crossed and he cocked an eyebrow. "What is that exactly?"

"Oh, I've heard of this! It's like super popular in America, I think." Hagakure giggled. "You get a bunch of people in a circle, get a bottle to spin in the middle and whoever the bottle lands on, the person who spun it has to kiss them."

"And you want your girlfriend to play this with other guys playing?" Kiminari asked Kirishima, sounding very confused.

The energy in the room shifted for a moment as all eyes were on Kirishima and he displayed a moment of doubt. He looked as though he'd made a snap decision and had not considered what Kiminari brought up.

But just before anything could be done, Valerie threw her arms playfully around her boyfriend's shoulders from behind. With a bright smile she said, "Oh, come on. You guys. It's not a big deal." Her face drew closer to Kirishima's ear and she purred, "Let's play."

Once again. Kirishima's expression and posture mechanically changed. His grinned at his friends and took the marble soda bottle put of Valerie's hand, "What are we waiting for? Let's play."


	4. Chapter 4

Sitting in a circle, Kirishima sat facing his bedroom door, where Bakugou stayed. On the red-head's right sat Valerie, then Midoriya, Jiro, Hagakure, then Kaminari, and finally Ochaco sat beside Kirishma. The majority of the group wore blended looks of excitement and nervousness.

"Me first!" Kaminari more or less shouted, barely giving Kirishima a chance to set the bottle down. With a strong flick of his wrist, he gave it a spin and watched intently. "Wait..." he said as it continued spinning, "What happens if it lands on a guy?"

As luck would have it, the bottle slowed and landed definitively on Kirishima, who shared his look of disgust. "Oh, what?" The hardening-quirked student lamented. "I don't want to kiss Kaminari."

Laughing with the others, Valerie shrugged, "Them's the rules, babe."

"Let's see it, Kirishima!" Hagakure chimed in. "Let's see that many kissing!"

Kirishima and Kaminari shared a look of mutual frustration. "On three?" Kaminari asked.

"On three," Kirishima agreed.

Kaminari counted, "1, 2..." he paused to release another disgruntled groan. "3."

The two boys leaned in quick and shared a brief, barely passable kiss. A collective, disapproving 'boo' erupted from the girls in the room. "Weak." Jiro said with a challenging smirk.

"Let's see you do better when it's your turn." Kaminari shot back bitterly. The direction of this game started on the absolute worst route possible.

"Well, the rules are that whoever it lands on, then has to spin." Valerie explained. "So it's you're turn, sweetie." Her fingers brushed his shoulder then ran down his arm with a feather touch.

"Alright," Kirishima grinned. "But you know you're the only one in the room I actually want to kiss." His eyes were on her as he spun the bottle.

Her head cocked to the side and she brought her hand to her chest, with a moved gleam in her eyes. "Aww, you're so sweet."

They looked down and watched the bottle slowly come to a stop. When it did, an eruption of laughter filled the room once more as it landed on Kirishima himself. "Uhhh... okay, I can work with this." His sharp-toothed grin flashed at everyone as he rotated his body to face away from his friends. He wrapped his arms around himself, making it look like another paid of arms were holding him and caressing his back. His head moved back and forth as if he was kissing someone.

Everyone was laughing. Except for Bakugou, who did actually have to suppress a tiny smirk.

Turning back to face the circle, Kirishima sighed heavily with a smile on his lips. "So, now what? Do I spin again?" Valerie nodded. Kirishima tried again. This time it landed on his girlfriend which prompted him to beam. "Come 'ere, beautiful." He said, pulling her in for a deep, intense kiss.

The girls in the room collectively swooned, saying "Aww," in unison.

"Wish someone would kiss **_me_**like that," Jiro muttered to Midoriya, bumping her shoulder into his.

Immediately confused thinking she was referring to him, the green-haired boy flushed, "Wh-hat?"

"Oh no, not you, Deku." She said quickly, placing a hand on his arm. Her eyes shot a glance at Kaminari, who, like the others, was not paying attention to this quiet exchange.

''So... Jiro like Kaminari? Is that what she's saying? I wonder if he knows.'

As Midoriya fell into his habit of overthinking, the game went on. Valerie gave a strong flick of her wrist and the bottle went spinning. She giggled softly and commented, "'It's so cool with the marble."

"Do you not have Ramune in America, Val?" Hagakure asked.

"You can find it in some international stores in the bigger cities, but it's not just anywhere." She answered before looking down to see who was next.

The bottle was pointing at Ochaco. The girl seemed to shrink into herself a bit in embarrassment. "Oh, jeez. Okay, heh..." She got up on her knees and made her way around Kirishima to kiss his girlfriend.

Valerie wore a Cheshire grin as she leaned up to kiss Ochaco slowly and sensually. No other part of their bodies touched, but Valerie made her kiss with Ochaco just as deep and familiar as the one she and Kirishima just shared. When they mutually pulled away from each other, Valerie winked, "'You're a good kisser, Uraraka."

"Woah," Kaminari blurted out.

The gravity-quirked girl wasn't expecting that. "Oh! Um, thank you." She laughed nervously as she returned to her spot on her knees. "Okay, my turn?" She knew it was, but all eyes being on her in this scenario made her talk more than necessary.

The bottle spun. The bottle stopped. Ochaco looked up and saw that it landed on Bakugou, who was still not technically part of the circle.

Rolling his eyes, the short-tempered boy scoffed, "In your dreams, pink cheeks."

A shade darker than pink colored Ochaco's face, but she didn't have a chance to say anything.

"Um, actually! I'm here!" Hagakure reminded. She wore pajamas so small in nature that Ochaco overlooked them.

"Oh, my gosh, Hagakure! I'm so sorry!" Ochaco laughed again out of nervous habit. "Wait, but how am I gonna...?"

"Just stay still." Hagakure instructed happily.

The others watched, but obviously with Hagakure, pretty much everything was left to their imagination. Ochaco, on the other hand, felt everything. Hagakure used her fingers to tilt Ochaco's head up gently. She felt Hagakure's breath for a moment before their lips connected. Feeling that pressure, Ochaco gasped softly and shut her eyes. It was a sweet, but sensual and everything Ochaco imagined a perfect kiss would feel like. In a daze, she opened her eyes once Hagakure pulled away. "Oh, wow," she almost sounded drunk.

Hagakure giggled. "Yeah, I've heard that one a few times." She proclaimed proudly.

The bottle started spinning and it landed on Midoriya. Right away, the young hero pulled his hands up defensively and shook his head. "Oh, I-I-I-"

"Deku," Hagakure interrupted pleasantly.

"Y-yeah?"

He felt a small kiss on his cheek. A tiny, relieved smile lifted the corners of his lips and thre was genuine gratitude reflecting in Midoriya's eyes. "Thanks, Hagakure. That wasn't so bad."

"You still have to spin yourself, you know." Valerie reminded.

Right away, Midoriya deflated. "Oh, right..." He took a deep breath, wondering how his choice of options led him to this position. He came to the conclusion that it really didn't matter. Might as well just get it over with. With by far the least amount of effort, Midoriya reached to the middle of the circle and gave the bottle a spin. Despite being the shortest spin thus far, it felt like an eternity to Midoriya and when it finally stopped, the young man felt his nerves tense.

"Me again!" Valerie cheered with a bright smile.

"Oh, gosh, I-I'm sorry Kirishima. Here, um, I'll uh, I'll do that again." Midoriya stammered and went in for a re-spin.

Except when he did, Valerie interrupted his attempt. She slipped her hand to the back of his head and grabbed a fistful of hair. Midoriya was faster than this on the battlefield, but when Valerie's soft open mouth pressed to his, the young hero-in-training froze. His thoughts grew even more muddled when her intrusive tongue forced its way into his mouth. That was the moment his thought process started to function again. He struggled to escaped her and grunted in distress and disfavor, but the young woman was stronger than she looked and continued to force herself on him.

From across the room, Bakugou watched this outsider, this nobody take advantage and mistreat two of his friends. The look on Kirishima's face as he watched Valerie kiss Midoriya was one of utter dismay and betrayal. If that wasn't enough to set Bakugou off, her blatant disregard for Midoriya's body autonomy did the trick.

In just two or three huge strides, Bakugou reached the middle of the circle and put everything he had into shoving her off of the struggling deku. "The fuck do you think you're doing?" He didn't quite yell, but his voice was sharp and reflected the rage he felt.

"Woah! Bakugou! Chill, man!" Kaminari said first. "That's how you play."

Valerie, who had fallen against Kirishima glared at the blonde who tossed her like a rag doll then turned her attention to her boyfriend. "Eijiro, don't ever let him do that to me again."

A hardened look crossed Kirishima's face as he helped her to sit up, then he rose to his feet, standing Bakugou down. "Get out." He hissed.

Bakugou's face twisted in disbelief and deeper animosity. He hoped it didn't show how cutting Kirishima's reaction was to him. "Are you fucking serious?" He asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm fuckin' serious, dude! You just manhandled my girlfriend!"

"Did I?" Bakugou shot back. "Cause from where I was standing, she sure as fuck did not look like your girlfriend."

Kirishima barely let Bakugou finish his sentence before throwing his fist into the blonde hero's face.


	5. Chapter 5

There were several gasps across the room and then silence. It was deafening as everyone waited for Bakugou to react. It was a crazy scenario to process. Kirishima. Eijiro Kirishima balled his fist and punched Katsuki Bakugou. The one person who Bakugou definitively considered his friend assaulted him, put everything he had into a brutal hit across the face.

Bakugou did not move from the position his head turned when it was punched. He stood silently, head down, facing slightly to the left, hair obscuring his eyes. Both arms tense and fists clenched at his sides.

Hagakure was the one to finally break the silence as she tried to reason with them, reminding everyone that if they were caught fighting or just having Valerie here that they would all get in a absurd amount of trouble. However, it was not until Midoriya spoke that Bakugou seemed to come back to reality.

"Kacchan." His frightened voice rang in Bakugou's ears. "Please don't fight. Remember what happened last time?"

A bitter smirk somehow darkened Bakugou's face further. He finally looked up and regarded Midoriya. "You alright, Deku?"

Midoriya nodded frantically. "I'm fine. I'm totally fine. Everything's fine."

"No, actually, everything's not fine, Midori-" Kirishima started, but was cut off when Bakugou firmly shoved him. Before Kirishima could respond though, Bakugou turned away and stormed out of the room.

An awkward silence, though far less tense than the one before, fell on the room. This time it was Kaminari who spoke first. "Wow. That was... intense. Are you okay, Val?"

Valerie nodded, but cringed as she cradled the arm she fell on. Seeing this, Kirishima was at her side in an instant, comforting her. "Are you sure? Do we need to get you to a doctor or anything?"

"It's fine," the young transfer student insisted.

"Man, I can't believe Bakugou," Kaminari shook his head. "I know the guy has a temper, but-"

"Actually," Ochaco interjected with a firmer tone than usual. Her gaze shifted to Valerie. "I've never really thought Bakugou's approach to things was acceptable, but to be honest, what you were doing to Izuku was just as inappropriate."

Valerie snorted. "Seriously?"

Mild irritation coated Ochaco's next reply, "Um... yeah? He didn't give you consent and you kind of forced yourself on him."

"Ugh, you Japanese are such prudes." Valerie groaned.

Taken slightly aback by Valerie's offensive comment, Midoriya jumped in, doing his best to smooth things over. "Uraraka, it-it's okay. Really, it's fine."

"No, it's really not, Midoriya." Jiro began. "I'm sorry, but I agree with Uraraka. In fact, I'd go as far to say that Midoriya deserves an apology."

"Tck," Valerie rolled her eyes, an without a trace of remorse in her face or voice, asked, "What do you say, Izuku? You'll forgive me, right?"

In that moment, Midoriya's soft theory regarding Valerie's hold on Kirishima being mind control was officially busted. He didn't feel that mental death grip like the one Hitoshi Shinso had on him during the UA Sports Festival. Of course, even though her apology was not sincere, he still felt necessary to accept it. That's who he was, after all. If he could follow Bakugou all these years, surely he could cut this girl some slack.

"Yeah, of course, Val," he flashed a sweet, accepting smile.

The others in the room, however, were less forgiving. Her lack of remorse was apparently the last straw for them. "You know, I think I'm actually gonna get some studying in, after all." Jiro said, rising to her feet.

Ochaco followed suit. "Same here."

"Me too," Hagakure agreed, sharing the same disappointed tone as the first two girls.

Kiminari followed their lead, albeit with less conviction. He shrugged at Kirishima as if to say, 'Sorry, dude' as he followed the girls to the door.

Kirishima's expression grew defensive. "Wait are you guys for real? I-I thought-"

Ochaco looked over her shoulder, cutting Kirishima off. "You coming, Deku?"

As Midoriya stood up, Valerie sneered at Ochaco before turning her gaze to Kirishima. "It's fine, babe. Let them go." There was not another word of protest from Kirishima. Valerie returned her attention to Midoriya who hesitantly looked her way. Snidely, she dismissed him with an abrasive flick of her wrist. "Run along, little boy. Your army of protectors are leaving without you."

At last, Kaminari caught on to what the girls had already figured out. He frowned deeply and spoke up against her low blow, "You know what, Midoriya is actually one of the best in our class. He's literally saved a bunch of people in real confrontations with real villains. Just because he's not willing to pull a Bakugou and use force against you doesn't mean you can call him weak."

Instead of responding to Kaminari, Valerie pulled Kirishima close and whispered in his ear. They laughed together, obviously at Kaminari, if not all five of Kirishima's friends. Although, in that moment, they sure as hell did not feel like any friends of his.

"What the hell is your problem, dude?" Kaminari asked bitterly.

"Let's just go, Denki." Jiro placed a hand on his back and gently led him to the door.

The others had already walked out, but Ochaco stopped at the threshold and looked at Kirishima, "Listen. I won't say anything this time, but if I see her here again, I'm **will** tell Aizawa Sensei. Got it?"

Again, Valerie leaned, whispering in Kirishima's ear and once more, the two of them started laughing. Ochaco frowned, then turned and strode out, shutting the door behind her. She couldn't believe how much Kirishima was changing, just because he got a girlfriend.

When she caught up to the other, who were waiting in the hall for her, Ochaco heard Hagakure say, "I feel so bad that none of us stood up for Bakugou. He probably thinks we're all mad at him. Should we stop by his room and talk to him?"

"Have fun with that," Kaminari muttered. "I'm just gonna go to bed. That was messed up on so many levels and I'm pretty much tapped out for the night." He gave a lazy, halfhearted wave as he made his way without the others to his own room.

The three girls lingered in the hall with Midoriya, who stared at Bakugou's door.

"Are you okay, Deku?" Ochaco asked, placing a hand on his arm. "Do you want to go talk to him? I can come with if you'd like?"

His gaze snapped up to meet hers, "Oh... no, it's fine. I know right now he's probably really irritated with me. I kind of... really messed up back there."

"What?" Hagakure gasped.

"Midoriya, absolutely not." Jiro said sternly. She and Ochaco wore similar expressions of deep concern and compassion. "You did NOTHING wrong, do you hear me?"

Ochaco piggybacked off that, "She was the one in the wrong, Deku. You were the... well, not victim, but..." She struggled to find the words.

'_Oh god._ _Victim? Really?'_ Midoriya pressed his hand to the side of his head, feeling even worse than before. _'Why do I always end up here? Why am I so weak?'_

"Hey," Hagakura slipped her hand into Midoriya's and gave a reassuring squeeze. "You're an amazing hero, Midoriya. You're as strong and determined as any hero out there. It's just... when it comes to social situations and people... you're kind of... well, oblivious? Like an innocent kid, you know? And none of us want to see you taken advantage of or thinking it's your fault if it does happen. None of us were comfortable with what Kirishima's girlfriend did and I think Bakugou felt the same way."

"That's right," Jiro agreed as they started walking again. "To be honest, I'm not particularly fond of the way she's treating Kirishima either, but apparently he doesn't care, so..." she shrugged. "I guess that's a lesson he's just going to have to lean on his own."

"Well that's just it, you guys. Kacchan and I-" he cut his own words off when he noticed Ochaco was not keeping up. "Uraraka?" He stopped and turned around, finding her lingering at Bakugou's door.

She smiled at her friends and waved them off. "You guys go on ahead. I do want to talk to Bakugou for a minute."

"By yourself?" Hagakure asked dreadfully.

There was an uneasy laugh behind Uraraka's reply, "Yeah, it'll be fine. I'll see you guys in the morning, kay?"

Hagakure, Jiro and Midoriya hesitated a moment before going along with her request. "Alright," Jiro sighed. "Good luck."

Midoriya said nothing, but shot Ochaco a look of regret, to which she just smiled and winked.


	6. Chapter 6

'Come on, Uraraka! If you can face off against actual villains, you cant have a civilized... understanding... discussion... with... ugh, Bakugou.' She growled softly and bit her lip as her resolve began to waver. 'Damn it, what am I even doing here? What's the best case scenario really?'

"Oi, Round Face, you planning on standing out there all night or are you gonna knock or something?" Bakugou's voice came from within his dorm.

"Eep!" Ochaco squeaked and leapt back from the door a little, then leaned forward again and asked in a high whisper. "How did you know I was out here?"

The door opened just enough to see Bakugou standing within the threshold. "I don't know, might have something to do with the fact that I'm a trained hero and being alert and aware of my surroundings is literally one of the first things we learned here?"

"Heh... right, that makes sense." Ochaco grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "So um... mind if I come in for just a sec?"

Bakugou frowned and Ochaco was completely ready for his answer to be no, but he surprised her by stepping aside and saying, "Make it fast."

Her gaze wandered around the room as she took that first hesitant step through the door. It was much more organized that she imagined. "Wow, your room is so nice. Probably wouldn't have won the best room competition, but still."

"Don't waste time, alright." Bakugou scoffed. "You got somethin' to say, spit it out. You here to bitch me out about being rude to that-"

"Actually," Ochaco cut him off. I wanted to tell you that I... well, me and the others, we should have spoke up the way you did... for Deku, but also for you. It might not have been handled in the best way, but you did the right thing stepping in. We all think so and, and I just wanted to tell you that it made me really happy."

For the first time since they met, Ochaco saw Bakugou look legitimately pleasantly surprised. "Oh," he said quietly. "Okay..."

Since she was on a roll, the gravity-quirked student decided to keep going. "I also wanted to say that, that I, I don't know what happened at the start of the semester between you and Deku, but I just... I'm really proud of you for how much like... improvement you've made. You haven't seemed to be carrying the same amount of hate and hostility that you did before. A lot of us have noticed you just seem... like you're... maturing? I guess?"

Bakugou did not appear to be moved in the slightest. He stared at her with a bored look on his face and asked, "Anything else?"

Right away, Ochaco wished she could take everything back. She turned away from him to face the door so he couldn't see her bruised feelings. "I-I guess not. Sorry to have bothered you," and with that she made for the door.

"Oi, hold up a sec," he called to her.

She didn't turn around and her hand was on the door knob, but she did stop. "What?" She asked sharply, doing her best to not give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset.

Clearing his throat several times, Bakugou took an unusually long time to begin whatever he had to say. "So, uh... here's the thing. Back there, in Shit-Hair's room, you uh... your spin actually landed between Ghost Girl and Dumb Shock. "

At that point, Ochaco finally turned around. Her hand still held the door knob, but she stared at her classmate, confused. "O...kay?" She shook her head slowly, trying to understand.

"Meaning," Bakugou cleared his throat again. His eyes averted from hers as he scratched the back of his head, "it actually landed on me."

A few beats passed before Ochaco put the pieces together. Her eyes widened slowly and she took a small gasp, "Are you saying you... want to kiss me?" It sounded preposterous and had Bakugou's face not been a distinctive red shade, she would have never had the audacity to ask such a thing. However, as their conversation kept going, the young man continued to undermine her expectations.

"I mean, like, I get that you actually have a thing for Deku. Like everyone else in this damn school you obviously like him more than me, but I-I don't know, I just..." His words trailed off because quite frankly he didn't know where he was going with this or why he was saying these things. Why now? Why her? It all felt so random and weird, but for some reason he felt the need to do this.

The fact that Bakugou was asking to kiss her kind of escaped Ochaco for a moment as she was suddenly mortified by the fact that he seemed to know about her feelings for Midoriya. She covered her face and groaned. "Oh, jeez. Am I that obvious?"

"I mean, not to Deku, if that's any consolation." Bakugou shrugged. He waited for her to saying something else, anything else, but she didn't. She just stood there looking embarrassed and stuck. "So, I guess that's a no, right?"

Finally she looked up at him again, returning to the conversation at hand. "A no? Oh! Oh, a no! No, I mean, I-" she released a frustrated sigh.

_'So... he really does want to kiss me, then? I mean, yeah, he's right that I like Deku and between the two of them, obviously I prefer Deku to him. ...Except... right now, he... he seems so... different, so vulnerable. Like he's someone else entirely.'_

"You can kiss me," she finally spoke, but it was almost inaudible, so she added, a little louder, "if you want to."

His look of surprise by her answer matched perfectly to how she felt about it. She didn't take it back though. Her heart and thoughts raced along side each other as he stepped closer, the gap between them growing smaller.

When he reached out to touch her face, she took one look at his hand and flinched with a small whimper escaping her. Bakugou's hand pulled away slightly as he realized she probably saw his hands as weapons. To prove her wrong, he tenderly pressed his palm to her cheek and assured her gently, "I won't hurt you." He guided her head up to look at him.

Who even was this guy? The peaceful look in his eye, the patience in his voice, this was not a person Ochaco knew. This was not Bakugou. What the hell was happening?

Then he kissed her and Ochaco's mind went blank. He cupped the other side of her face as he leaned in swiftly and pressed his lips to hers firmly. Yet, he was so gentle, so careful as the kiss deepened. His fingers slid up into her hair on both sides of her head and opened his mouth tentatively running his tongue across her lips, waiting for her to accept or pull away.

When she let him in, a sweet and grateful sigh breathed into her mouth from his. He tilted his head and entered her mouth with his tongue, tenderly massaging hers with his. Ochaco released a very similar sweet, yearning sound, but hers was closer to a moan. Her hands nervously fiddled with the front of his shirt, wrapping and unwrapping the fabric around her finger. One of his hands slipped behind her head and pulled her closer, kissing her more passionately. He mistook a gasp of surprise for one of pain or protest, so he pulled away immediately and checked.

"Are you okay?" He asked between breaths. "Do you want to stop?"

She swallowed hard and shook her head fast, also catching her breath. "No, do you?"

One of the most beautiful smiles she ever saw lit Bakugou's face as he answered by pulling her back in and kissing her with everything he had.


	7. Chapter 7

Midoriya received unexpected hugs from both girls as they left him at his dorm. When he walked in and shut the door behind him, he collapsed on the bed, feeling so stupid. He grumbled into the All-Might comforter and hit one of his pillows. Frustration built up as he just kept thinking about how far he had come as a hero, but how far behind his was as a person.

He couldn't believe his friends essentially just spelled out that he was someone who needed to be protected. Truth told, he did feel violated; and he didn't like what she was doing, but he wished he didn't. He wished he didn't struggle and make a big deal. Or maybe he should have been clearer. A firm no? He never did actually say no. Maybe she didn't know any better.

A loud growl escaped him as he rolled over. It was all so messed up. Compared to this, every single part of hero training was a breeze. People? With emotions? And their feelings? **That** was difficult. He didn't know what to do. He wondered if All-Might or any of the pro heroes ever had to deal with stuff like this.

Hagakure's words played on loop in his head. Words like 'oblivious', 'taken advantage of', and 'innocent kid' were like thorns pricking his recently built up confidence. Did the entire class see him that way? Why? Because he was polite? Because he was a little bit shy? What the hell? He had done so much already. All but walking in All-Might's shoes. He thought he'd proven at least a little bit that he was worthy.

Then again, tonight, he did everything wrong. He had been such a bad friend. The disappointment in Kacchan's face struck Midoriya's heart. Then the look Kirishima wore when Valerie kissed Midoriya. Then of course the anxious look he left Ochaco with to face Kacchan alone. What a shitty friend he was. He felt so weak and- well, aptly named. Deku.

The thought crossed his mind to get up and go make things right before tomorrow, the way Ochaco had. God, she was so admirable and brave. Maybe she was still with Kacchan. That would be perfect, two birds, one stone and all that. His courage was just about ready to pull him out of bed when the ringtone for his phone started going off.

_'Who the heck's calling at this hour?'_ he thought as he pulled it out. Stranger still, the number was unknown.

Midoriya hesitated, but went ahead and answered. "Hello?"

Valerie's voice came on the other end and when it did for some reason, he felt a surge of sweet relief coarse through him. "Don't hang up, hero."

=/=

Ochaco sat at the side of the bed, pulling her pants on. Her back, to Bakugou, she had one leg in when she paused and hesitantly asked, "Um... Katsuki?"

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind as he was still laying in bed. "Yes?" He kissed her side. "Uraraka?"

"Have you ever done that before?" It was difficult to do so, but she made herself look him in the eye.

Bakugou smirked. "Maybe."

A forced and rather displeased smile touched her lips as she wriggled out of his embrace and stood up to finish getting dressed. "Right."

Sitting up, but keeping a sheet over the lower half of his body, Bakugou began to speak. "Listen, Uraraka... I don't what... I mean, I don't know what this meant to you and I really don't want you to feel used or anything, but... I want you to know that I don't have any interest in a relationship right now. Or any time soon really, if I'm honest. I don't want to hurt you but-"

"Hey," she stopped him and turned to look at him again. "It's okay. You took the words right out of my mouth actually."

"Wha- Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've got two years of high school left. We're both aiming for the top. This... this was fun. It was nice and," a shadow of a smirk appeared and colored her words, "honestly, I wouldn't mind doing it again someday, with you even, but..." She nodded, "Yeah, like you said, this really isn't a time in our lives to start something serious." He stared at her a moment longer than she was conformable with, wearing a stupid expression. "What?" She asked defensively. "Did I say the wrong thing again?"

The young man shook his head. "No, I just... **really** don't get where people come off calling you fragile."

"Oh," she blushed and smiled nervously, pulling her hair out of her face. "Well, thank you. I... really don't get where people come off calling you mean..."

They both looked at each other with knowing smiles, then burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that's a lie." Bakugou said in the midst of their laughter.

"Yeah, dang, ya caught me." Ochaco snapped her fingers with an edge of sarcasm in her voice.

A burst of memories they just shared together went off in her mind; and suddenly she thought about how it truly was a shame that more people didn't know this side of Bakugou. Nothing had changed. He was still the egotistical, unkind asshole he always was, but earlier, when they were together... she saw her own fear, her own desires and trust and surprise reflected in his eyes. They shared every emotion and rode those waves together. Another shiver shot through her as she relived that moment before they crossed that line. The way he stopped and looked her in the eye to ask, to make absolute sure it was what she wanted.

"Hey," his voice abruptly pulled her back to the here and now. "Probably should get goin', ya know? Unless you plan on sleeping here, which... I really don't think is a great idea."

Ochaco groaned softly as she stretched. "Yeah, that's true." She yawned and smiled at him.

"Want me to walk you back to your dorm?"

"I don't know that sounds a little too relationship-y if you ask me."

"Tck, fine. Just tryin' to be a gentleman."

"Yeah," she smirked, "Don't. It's weird." He laughed and she had come to really appreciate that sound. Although, there was one more thing to address before she left. "Do me a favor and don't be too hard on Deku tomorrow. I know it's not easy for you two to get along, but I think he really believes he did something wrong tonight when that... bitch is the one who crossed a line.

Bakugou cocked an eyebrow, looking very impressed and vaguely turned on. "Bitch, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're a bad influence. Relish in your gift." She rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile. "But seriously."

He replied with a dismissive wave, "You've got nothin' to worry about. I'm not actually that pissed at him."

"Thank you." She allowed her grateful smile to shine through that time. "Alright, well, see you tomorrow?"

"Not if I see you first." He grinned and before she could reach the door, he was at her side, holding the sheet around his waist, kissing her goodnight.

Despite everything they agreed on, neither one of them felt like two friends parting. Everything that made sense said to stop touching, stop kissing, stop feeling these feelings. There simply wasn't time for it. And yet, everything they said and everything they were doing was not lining up. And yet, Bakugou couldn't stand letting her go. And yet, Ochako couldn't stop smiling as made her way back to her dorm.


	8. Chapter 8

Bakugou woke up late for the first time since elementary.

_'See? This is why a relationships aren't for high schoolers.'_ The focused, analytical side of himself chastised the weak, emotional side.

He raced about the room getting ready, but once he opened the door and stepped out into the hall, seeing his peers still shuffling out of their dorms, he was the picture of composure. Silently, he made his way out of the building and stepped into brisk winter air. It was the coldest day yet and the fact that they were full on in winter was never more apparent than that morning.

Winter already? His second semester of his first year of high school seemed to fly right past him. Everyone had been so on edge at the end of summer, worrying about villains, but so far it had been oddly quiet. When he finally retook the hero license test and acquired his license at last, he had been so motivated and pumped to participate in the action. Except... very little had happened. He knew it was wrong to lament over low crime activity, but how was he going to prove himself if there were no bad guys to pummel?

As Bakugou reached the classroom, he saw Ochako chatting with a handful of their female classmates. When they made eye contact with each other, Ochako flashed a small, but warm smile at him and then went back to her conversation. This came as a surprise. He really expected more of a conflict here.

_'I guess she really isn't gonna make a big thing out of it.'_ He sat down at his desk and mused in appreciation over just how much he and Ochako really seemed to naturally and deeply **get** each other.

Neither of them had to say it out loud, but they both knew the other preferred to keep their experience together last night to themselves. Bakugou knew what kind of person he came off as, and he was also aware of the typical alpha male response to getting laid. Except, that was not his intention. He fit into some of the mold, but not all of it and he knew that, but it came as a slight surprise to him that she seemed to know that, too.

That went both ways. Watching her laugh and talk with her friends, he knew she wasn't giving up the goods. He knew she wasn't laughing at him or anything about last night. The level of respect and equality between them was staggering to him and it made him want to kiss her again.

"Ahh," Bakugou growled and hit his head lightly, turning his attention away from the girls. '_Stop it, this is not what you need to be thinking about right now, idiot.'_

He looked around the room and found that Kirishima was not present and the last bell was less than a minute from ringing. Any other day, Bakugou would assume that Kirishima was just avoiding the ass-whopping he fully deserved. Of course Bakugou had no intention of doing that, but Kirishima didn't know that. Either way, the fact of the matter was that... Kirishima was not a serious person, but he was a serious as fuck student and to ditch class the day before finals? That wasn't like him at all.

Similarly, Midoriya entered the class and made it to his seat just as the bell rang. His eyes were glued to his phone until he sat down and put it away. Another... very unusual scene to play out. As expected though, Midoriya was careful to avoid eye contact with Bakugou. So there was that at least.

Class began, Bakugou let himself glance at Ochako one more time before getting serious and focusing on the lesson. She happened to look at him at the same moment and the two of them smiled at each other. It was such a great and validating feeling. Bakugou enjoyed it and stayed in that moment until Aizawa began to speak, then the young hero shifted his focus to becoming a hero.

=/=

At lunch, Bakugou decided to try smooth things over with Deku, then go check on Shit-Hair. The blonde hero was taken aback slightly to see Midoriya already have his phone out and texting again when he approached him. "Hey," he greeted casually, trying to sound as not angry as possible.

Except Midoriya didn't look up. The only indication he gave to knowing Bakugou was there was a subtle, "Hm?"

Bakugou fought away the irritation and just went with it. "Look, um... I just wanted to let you know that I'm not... like mad or anything. About yesterday. I heard you were worried about it or... thought I felt it was your fault that... well, you know. And I just... are you even listening?"

"Yeah," was all he got in return.

"You know, what, forget it." Bakugou shook his head, feeling like a moron for even trying. He was so sick of phones. He was ready to throw his out just to release some of the aggravation they had brought him in the last few days. First Kirishima, now Deku.

That interaction with Midoriya almost dissuaded him from checking on Kirishima at all, but against his better judgment, he figured it was probably even more important to make amends with his actual best friend. On his way out, Ochako waved him over and asked if he wanted to sit together for lunch.

He tried, but couldn't suppress a smirk and cocked eyebrow. "Maybe tomorrow. I'm goin' to see what Shitty Hair is up to. He's a moron, but missing class like this is not really his style, you know?"

"Alright," she smiled sweetly. "Tomorrow then."

"Yeah, definitely." He flashed a quick, uninvested smile in return as he walked away._ 'Good job keeping it casual, dumbass.'_

When he got Kirishima's door and knocked, there was no answer. Someone was definitely in there, though. He could hear something even if he couldn't quite make out the noises. Rolling his eyes and heaving a heavy sigh, Bakugou knocked again. "Oi, asshole. Stop hiding, would ya? You know we've got finals tomorrow. You can't-" Out of habit, Bakugou tried to open the door, fully expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't. "Kirishima?" Bakugou's aloof tone turned to one of mild concern.

He stepped into the room and gasped at the sight. The place was trashed. Not in the all-high-school-boys-are-slobs kind of way. The mess had clear signs of rage and despair. Broken glass and random personal items needlessly destroyed, strewn about the room. There was damage done that only someone with Kirishima's hardening ability could really do. Bakugou couldn't understand how this much damage went unheard and noticed. Must have taken place after school started and the building was empty?

Taking another step in, he saw Kirishima. He hadn't before because the redhead was laying down in a fetal position and was hidden by the bookshelf lying on its side. He was next to the wall, where his phone could remain plugged in and charging. His back faced Bakugou, but the blonde hero could tell Kirishima was sobbing. His entire body was shaking and there were puddles of vomit around him.

It briefly crossed Bakugou's mind that maybe Valerie and Kirishima broke up after what happened, but the sight before him was one Bakugou had seen once before. It was a long time ago, almost ten years now, but he remembered it all to the very last detail. The shaking, the despair, the vomit. This wasn't the scene of someone who was just dumped. No, this was a textbook image of an addict going through withdraw.


	9. Chapter 9

**/10 YEARS AGO/**

On an early release day, Katsuki walked home from school with a smile on his lips. A real pro hero had been at the school today as a guest and took notice of Katsuki's quirk. The exchange was brief, but the hero's impressed response to the child's power gave Katsuki even more confidence in himself and his goal. He also made Deku cry once, so it was a good day.

The young boy entered his family's apartment, expecting it to be empty. He stopped short at the sound of someone violently ill coming from the bathroom. His father's calm and patient voice spoke words of support and encouragement over the sickly sounds.

With his backpack still on, Katsuki took slow and careful steps toward the bathroom. Curiosity and the slightest twinge of fear twisted his youthful features. When he finally reached the bathroom door and stood just outside it, his chest tightened painfully.

"Mom?" His tiny, shaken voice sounded smaller than it ever had before.

Mitsuki clung to the toilet as she gagged and wretched into it. Her whole body trembled fiercely and she was sobbing between heaves of breath and throw up. Her husband was on his knees, rubbing her back, smoothing her hair away from her face, and telling her they would get through this together. There were four liquor bottles sitting on the bathroom sink, drained entirely of their contents.

When no one acknowledged his presence, Katsuki tried again. "Dad, what's wrong with Mom?"

Both of his parents heard him that time. Their gazes jerked up to look at him. A look of incredible sorrow fell over his mother's face as she dropped her head back into the toilet and cried out. "I'm so sorry."

His father, however, maintained composure and stood up, taking Katsuki gently by the arm. "Come on, Katsuki. Let's give mom some space, okay?"

At first the child was silent and obediently let his father lead him away. He stared at his mother until she was out of his sight. Once they reached the boy's room, he finally asked again, "What's going on? Is she sick?"

"What are you doing home?" Masaru's voice wasn't angry or scolding, just filled with worry.

Confused, Katsuki answered, "It... we had an early release. I gave mom the announcement last week."

His father nodded, understanding. "Of course, you did. I'm sorry you had to come home to this, kiddo, but don't worry. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. This Mom getting better."

"How is she getting better?" A sharp, cross tone took over the boy's voice. "She's puking and crying! Shouldn't we take her to the doctor?"

"We might have to," Masaru answered honestly. He took a knee in order to speak to his son at his level. "Katsuki... Mom is sick. She has a disease that makes it difficult for her to do things without drinking. We've been very careful to keep you from seeing this, but... I guess it's just as well that you are finding out now. She's going to need both of us to do the best we can now that she's decided to make a change. Now that she is trying to quit, we have to bring as little stress to her as possible. Do you think you can do that, buddy? Can you be strong for mom?"

Katsuki nodded, but he said nothing. His father thanked him and hugged him tightly before returning to Mitsuki. That Katsuki stayed in his room and gave his parents the space they needed for his mother to heal.

**/PRESENT DAY/**

"Kirishima! Come on, asshole! Drop the phone and look at me!" Bakugou pulled his backpack off and fished a half empty water bottle. He didn't know what exactly his friend was coming down from, but fluids were a sort of cure all, he remembered.

"She won't respond. Bakugou, she's not answering any of my calls." Kirishima's bottom lip trembled as his bloodshot eyes stared desperately at the artificial light from his phone. "I keep calling, I've texted hundreds of messages and she won't answer. Look."

The phone passed from Kirishima's hand to Bakugou's and the explosive-quirked student scrolled through his friend's outbox. 459 sent calls. 600 sent texts. Most of which were from the last 8 hours. The last incoming call or texts were from early evening the day before. Bakugou glared at the name, VALERIE, before tossing the phone on the bed.

Bakugou had to work around the vomit around them as he aided Kirishima in sitting up. "Here," he said, handing the faux redhead his water bottle. ""You need to drink something." As Kirishima complied, Bakugou asked, "What have you been taking? Is it just alcohol or did that dumb bitch girlfriend get you hooked on heroine or some shit?"

"What are you talking about?" Kirishima's voice was so sad and pathetic. "I'm not... I haven't..."

"Don't lie to me, Shit-for-Brains. I can tell you're coming off something. What is it?" Bakugou demanded. When Kirishima didn't answer, the young hero pressed the back of his hand to his friend's forehead. "Fuck, you're burning up. Come on." Bakugou stood up and pulled Kirishima onto his back. "Recovery Girl should be able to help. I need you to stay awake, you hear me, Shit Hair? Hey! Kirishima!"

"Hm?"

"Stay awake. Talk to me. Tell me about... uh... what parts of the final do you think you're gonna bomb?"

Whatever Kirishima's answer was came out in unintelligible mumbles and incoherent rambling. That was fine. Bakugou didn't need to understand. He just needed Kirishima conscious. Luckily, the dorms were so close to the school.

Without paying any mind to the dozens of students at lunch watching him carry his friend, Bakugou sprinted to the recovery room. By the time the lunch bell rang, all of class 1-A was standing outside the door with looks of concern for their classmate. Everyone except for Midoriya.


	10. Chapter 10

Lessons were put on hold for Class 1-A for the rest of the day. Instead, the students were brought in one by one and asked questions regarding Kirishima's recent behavior. Most students were not given any extra details beyond the fact that their hardening-quirked classmate was currently sequestered in the medical wing with Recovery Girl.

When Bakugou was pulled in, he had questions of his own and the tables were somewhat turned. "So what was did you find in his system? How long has he been using?"

"I'm afraid any details regarding Kirishima's condition are strictly confidential," Aizawa began. "However, in your case, I'm going to make an exception." He waited for the young man to look up again before continuing. "So far, none of the tests have shown any indication of drug or alcohol abuse... or use at all for that matter. Kirishima is definitely showing the signs of withdraw, but we're having trouble testing what exactly he's coming off of."

A drawn out sigh escaped Bakugou as he leaned forward in his chair and covered his mouth, digesting the information he was presented with. "Shit," he breathed into his hand.

"Bakugou, if you know anything that might help us get some answers, I'm going to have to insist you tell me. UA is remarkably intolerant against drug use and any efforts in covering for such things."

"Well, has he said anything?"

"Kirishima? No, he's still drifting in and out of consciousness when he isn't experiencing tremors and dry-heaving." Aizawa paused. "Bakugou, this is serious. Future lives, entire careers are on the line here. I don't know how to make it more clear to you that we need the facts."

"I don't know what to tell you, Aizawa Sensei. As far as I know, the only thing he's done different lately is date an exchange student. If I had to guess, she's behind whatever is happening to him, but I can't prove it and I doubt you'll get much from him about her. He's practically worshiped the chick since they met."

"We've confiscated his phone. Between that and a few students, I've heard mention of a girlfriend. Valerie is the only name I have so far. Do you have a surname? Or can you tell me what school she attends?"

"No." Bakugou answered. "Sorry." He tapped the front of his shoe against the floor and elevated his gaze to meet Aizawa's. "Although, you... you might be able to get her on camera, she were here on campus last night. Somehow she convinced Shit-Hair to let her sneak into the dorms. There's cameras all around school, right? Maybe something caught her."

"Yeah, we're already on that. Jiro and Kaminari gave us information about the '_**fun**_' you lot had last night." Aizawa muttered. "Don't think there won't be consequences for that, too."

Vaguely annoyed that Aizawa didn't lead with that, Bakugou frowned deeply, then asked. "Can I see him?"

"Not right now. Not until we get to the bottom of what's going on." Aizawa explained. "As soon as he's permitted to have guests, you'll be the first to know. That's the best I can do right now. Until then, you and all the others who were involved in last night's little get together are on house=arrest until we understand more of what's going on."

"But... tomorrow is the start of finals," the young student looked full on angry and desperate now. "W-we only have less than a week of school before the year's over."

"Due to this and other... extenuating circumstances, finals are going to be pushed back to next week. Don't worry, this isn't going to be like last time when you fell behind, alright?"

"Thank you, Sensei," Bakugou bowed his head and assumed the interview was over. He rose to stand and made for the door, only to stop short when his teacher called his name once more.

"Bakugou, one more thing. Have you noticed anything off about Midoriya today?"

**=/=**

Midoriya was aware of all the commotion that happened that day, but he just couldn't be bothered. When the class was informed that they would be interviewed, he was the first to volunteer. Best to get this out of the way so that he could get out of there fast. With the day's lessons canceled, he could go back to his room. He could make time for her.

The looks he received from his class when he excused himself, without an uttered concern for Kirishima sent a twinge of guilt into his heart... but then his phone rang. Her name appeared in large, capitalized letters across the screen: VALERIE. At once, his doubts and all other cares he might have had were swept away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation. He couldn't answer fast enough and when he did, it was like surge of electricity blazing through him.

"Hey, handsome." She sang before he could say anything. "I'm so glad you texted me. Is everything okay? Don't you have school right now?"

He explained the situation as he knew it and did so with little to no feeling. Even though Kirishima was one of his friends, he really couldn't be bothered by the idea of his classmates right now. He hoped that by telling Valerie about Kirishima's condition wouldn't make her change her mind. She had broken up with the hardening-hero-in-training the night before, just before she called Midoriya.

Ever since then, he and her and been talking, getting to know each other through text and call. He barely got any sleep that night, but it was worth it. He'd do it again even and as he reached his dorm and plugged in his phone, their conversation launched into a million different directions. Hours passed and long after the sun set, it began to look like his wish would be granted. There was no end to their call in sight.

"Yeah," Midoriya laughed into the phone. "Yeah, of course. There's not even a question. Retired or not, All-Might is always going to be the greatest hero."

"In Japan maybe," Valerie challenged playfully.

Midoriya snorted and as much as he would have like to gush more about All-Might and fight for his hero, doing so against Valerie just felt unsatisfying. Instead, the green-haired boy shifted the conversation to a question that had plagued him all day, "So Val... when do you think I can see you again?"

"Do you want to see me again?" Her knowing tone was sultry and teasing.

"Of course, I do." Midoriya confessed and before he could stop himself, he went on to say, "You're all I can think about. It's so strange cause I've never really had this feeling for a girl before... or another person at all, actually. Unless you count All Might and that's completely different."

Valerie giggled. "I want to see you too. I suppose I could make myself available tonight, if you'd like. That is... if you can do a few things for me."

Midoriya's heart rate hiked up a bit and he shot up from where he was laying in bed. "Oh yes, please. I'll do whatever you want. Just say the word and I've got it."

"Well, first, I want you to put on your hero costume."

"Uhh," he looked around his room, remembering that ever since he passed the hero license test, he had been given his suit to keep. "Sure. Don't hang up, kay? I just gotta put the phone down."

"I'll be right here, sugar."

Another shot of adrenaline and undiluted joy shot through Midoriya's veins. He couldn't believe how happy she made him. It was euphoric and almost intoxicating to oblige her. If it took his entire life, he was going to do everything in his power to repay the joy she had helped him find.

This was not the route he had planned to take with his life and he never would have anticipated feelings this way, especially given their first interaction; but the thought of never seeing her again, never hearing her voice again, it brought a stabbing pain to Midoriya's chest. The very thought was almost crippling. He couldn't ever let that happen. No matter what, he had to protect her. She was his new mission.

Quick as he could, Midoriya changed into his hero suit and picked the phone back up. "You know, I just realized I could have put you on speaker. It's hard not being able to talk to you, even for a minute or two."

An adorable laugh came from the other end of the line. "You're so sweet, Izuku." The boy felt the hair on the back of his neck raise and a shudder throughout his body. To talk to her was one thing, but her approval, even at its tamest was damn near orgasmic. "So did you do what I asked, sweetie? Do you look like a hero?"

"I-I think so. At least, I look like the hero, Deku. Heh." Midoriya smiled shyly and rubbed the side of his neck. He didn't pull the hood on since that would interfere with listening to Valerie's saccharine voice.

"Mmm, good." Her tone always had an alluring way about it, but just then she sounded downright sensual. "Now, without being seen, I want you to go outside and make your way to the main UA building. Can you do that?"

"Sure, that's easy!" He exclaimed. Using the window made it a breeze to avoid bumping into anyone. The distance down hurt a bit, but he'd had much worse. "Ugh," he grunted as he stood up and whispered. "Okay, I'm out and I'm on my way."

"Perfect," she whispered back. "So, Izuku, quietly, so you don't draw attention, can you tell me about a time in your life when you wanted to kill yourself?"


	11. Chapter 11

Bakugou saw through the empty threats from his teachers and the other staff and ignored them. He realized he was already in hot water with the others who had spent the evening with Kirishima and his stupid girlfriend, but this was important. It wasn't an option. He had to be nearby when Shit-Hair woke up.

Truth be told, he honestly regarded it as a weakness, but it wasn't one he was particularly interested in overcoming. In fact, it was a weakness Bakugou knew he was going to have to embrace. Friendship. Actually giving a shit. None of it came naturally to him, but it was part of becoming the best hero he could be. And Kirishima was his friend, so he wasn't going anywhere.

So, it took All-Might stepping in on his student's behalf, but Bakugou was granted permission to train in the rec room. He decided to do so in full uniform. It helped the training feel more real. He needed to blow off steam and clear his head. He wasn't sleeping anytime soon anyway with all the theories and questions he had about Kirishima and how exactly Valerie was involved. So he explosive-quirked student worked on his precision attacks, his speed, all those things that could always be improved.

For the most part, his thoughts dwelled on Kirishima, but occasionally his conversation with Aizawa regarding Deku came back to him. As their teacher Aizawa noticed a similarity that day in Midoriya's behavior to how Kirishima had been acting the past few weeks. Bakugu had just figured Deku was avoiding him to avoid a fight.

There really weren't many, but in moments like this, Bakugou desperately wished he knew how to be less... unapproachable. Coercing and harassing others didn't always work, much to his despair. If they did, he'd never want for anything else. Then again, his tendency to use control and power through fear and intimidation... those were the things that drew the League of Villains to him in the first place. So he had to keep working on that. He had a long way to go if he was to be recognized as All-Might's equal, let alone surpass the retired hero.

At the moment Bakugou knew which hero he'd most likely end up like. He looked at Endeavor and saw his current future self. He hated that. Endeavor was **_not_ **who Bakugou wanted to be. He wanted better and he knew he could do it.

It didn't matter what it took, he would proved to the world that there was a middle ground between him and Deku and he would reach it before that stupid nerd did. Everyone loved that self-sacrificing bit Deku always pulled, but it was bullshit. No matter how noble the act, if you get yourself killed, that's it. No more fighting. No more saving anyone.

Still, ever since his major fight with Midoriya at the start of the semester, Bakugou had begun to understand. All-Might praised them both for their strengths and those virtues Deku had that he didn't, those were his goals. The young hero knew to be the best, he had to learn to how to care. He knew that his raw power and strength was only half of the equation. Midoriya wasn't as useless and Bakugou used to believe. In fact there were lessons to learn from watching him.

Apparently, according to Ochako, his efforts hadn't gone unnoticed. His classmates were seeing changes and that was something of a relief. Being nice... hell, just being patient, just wasn't his forte and it was taking longer than he liked.

"Hey, Katsuki," a gentle and familiar voice pulled the young hero out of his thoughts.

He looked up and speak of the devil. The rec room door fell shut on its own and there standing in front of it was Ochako. She was also in her hero outfit. "What are you doing here?" He asked, sounding more pleased than either of them expected.

Ochako hesitated before stepping forward and answering, "Well, you never came back to the dorm, so I went looking for you and when I figured out what you were up to, I thought maybe you could use a sparring partner." She took a fighting stance and wore a challenging smirk as she gestured for him to come at her.

Bakugou returned that smirk with one of his own. "You better bring your A-game, Pink Cheeks."

**=/=**

"Y-you want me to what?" Midoriya stopped in his tracks and in his confusion, raised his voice slightly in surprise.

"Shh," Valerie hushed him, before she explained, all the while maintaining a whisper, "I want to know what the lowest was you ever felt. Tell me what happened. What brought you there. How you got back up. I don't want to just know you, Izuku. I want to understand you. I want to know everything."

"Oh," he exhaled deeply, still not whispering, but at least speaking at a low volume. "I guess that makes sense." He started walking again, making his way for the school, "This isn't really something I like to think about, but... back in middle school, I uh... I had some trouble with my quirk. That is I... I didn't um... "

"You didn't have one?"

"... Yeah, actually." He stopped again, taken aback, his tone reflecting that suprise. "How did you know that?"

"I didn't. You just told me."

"Y-you won't tell anyone, right?"

"Of course, I won't, baby. You can trust me." She had a smile in her voice. "Now back to your story. You're in middle school, quirkless."

"Right," Midoriya nodded and continued forward, "So, back then, you know Kacchan? He and I didn't really get along. It was worse than it is now. A lot worse. Believe it or not, he's actually calmed down a little this past year. Back then though... he um... he kind bullied me a lot. It seemed to really bother him any time I talked about becoming a hero. Once he... he told me, the best chance I'd have would be to kill myself and hope for a quirk in my next life." Midoriya hated talking about this. He grit his teeth and pressed on. Valerie wanted to know, after all. "It wasn't the first time I'd heard him say something like that, but... it was the first time he actually said it directly to me, you know? He'd alluded to it in the past, but..."

"How did that make you feel?" Valerie asked softly.

Midoriya's lips curved into a wistful smile. "More determined to succeed and prove him wrong. Over all it had the opposite effect of what I think he was going for. But," There was a pause. "But there were moments. While I was walking along a busy street, or across the bridge. Some times... I did think about ending it. They were just moments, though. They never lasted more than a minute or so and I always managed to fight them away, but some times what he said stuck in my head and I wondered if he was right."

"Do you think he still feels that way?"

"I... I don't know. I guess I haven't really thought about it in a long time." His words faded as he considered her question seriously. "No," he answered confidently. "No I don't think he does. I don't think he really ever did. Honestly, I think Kacchan doesn't have a real sense of mortality. He's always talking about killing people and shouting DIE, but... I don't know, I think he just doesn't understand the finality of death, you know?"

"You're probably right." She replied, shooting another jolt of excitement through him with her validation. "You're so smart. I bet you understand how serious death is don't you? The impact just one death can make in the world."

"I mean... I-I suppose."

"Izuku."

"Yes?"

"I think Kacchan meant what he said to you. I think he wants you out of his way, because you're better than him and you always will be. I mean, think about it for a minute."

He didn't want to, but for her, he'd think about it. This was so strange. Part of his mind was thriving off the compliments, but the other half felt sick at the thought that Kacchan fully understood and wholeheartedly meant what he said back then. It was easy to cover up that wound with excuses of nativity and thoughtlessness. But when Midoriya considered the fact that Kacchan was a methodical person, a brutally honest person... and really such an intelligent person. Yeah, maybe he did mean it. Maybe he did want Midoriya dead and out of the way.

"Y-yeah... I... I guess, you're right." Midoriya stopped at the school's entrance and his voice broke as he said, "Um... I'm here."

"You're such a good boy, Izuku." Valerie praised him and sighed slowly. "Go to the roof for me, okay?"


	12. Chapter 12

After an hour or so of battling, Bakugou and Ochako stepped out of the rec room to get some fresh air. It was cold enough to see their breath outside, but following their sparring match, their warm bodies could use some exposure to the cool, December air.

"You're getting better, Mochi-Face," Bakugou said between catching his breath. He took a long swig from his water bottle then handed it over to Ochako. When she took it, the young hero brought his arm to his mouth, wiping away the stray streams of water and the corners of his mouth and dripped off his chin. "Still not beatin' this though." He grinned.

Ochako was in the middle chugging the rest of his drink, so it took a moment before she could reply. The bottle exhaled and expanded back to it's original shape with a crackly popping sound when she pulled it away from her lips. She too wiped her face with her wrist, but she do so to brush away the beads of sweat beneath her eye.

"Mochi-Face?" She asked flatly between breaths. "Ugh, really?"

Still grinning, Bakugou poked her cheek. "What? Too cute for ya?"

Her eyes narrowed and a sly smile flitted across her face. "Oh, we can do cute, if that's what you want." She slapped his hand away, while activating her quirk. As Bakugou's body began to float, she caught his hand, but appreciated the look of shock and dismay in his face. "See, now that's cute. Katsuki Bakugou looking scared and vulnerable."

With his legs over his head, Bakugou clung to Ochako. The loss of control over his own body was not a feeling he particularly liked. He clung to her arm, floating beside her, feeling a bit shaken, but not enough to give her the satisfaction of pulling a fast one on him. "Tck. I'm not scared."

"No?" She beamed. "What if IIIII," she began to loosen her grip on his hand.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. You win." He said quickly, holding her arm tighter.

"What's that?"

"I said, you win!"

"Did you hear that everyone? I beat the undefeated Katsuki Bakugou!" She yelled for no one, but him to hear. Ochako laughed and pulled him closer, lowering her voice. "You know, I saw this old movie where the hero was hanging upside down like this off of a building and the girl he liked kissed him."

Bakugou scoffed, "So much for putting this on the back burner." Despite the cynicism in his voice, he reached out and tenderly touched Ochako's face. His fingers slid into her hair and cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer.

A content sigh escaped Ochako as her eyes began to slip shut, ready to kiss him again. Except something across the courtyard caught her eye. "Deku?"

That sound caused a strain in Bakugou's entire body and he swore he felt a physical crack in his chest. "What did you say?" He did his best to cover the hurt up with anger, but his voice wavered and betrayed him.

Oblivious to Bakugou's damaged pride, Ochako released him from her quirk and made sure he didn't fell head first to the ground, but her attention was elsewhere, on high alert. Eyes wide, she rushed past her blonde classmate, scouring the area. "I swear I just saw him." She looked all around for some trace of the green-haired boy. Her gaze briefly met Bakugou's. "Do you see him?"

"Um... no." He answered bitterly. "Listen, I'm gonna go back in and check on Shit-Hair. I... guess I'll see you tomorrow." He began to turn and walk away when Ochako's gasp stopped him.

"Katsuki!" She cried. "Look!"

Bakugou whipped back around and saw Ochako looking up. His gaze lifted and sure enough, he saw Midoriya using his quirk to leap from the middle arch of the school structure to the roof of front left building. "What is that idiot doing?" The explosive blonde muttered to himself. "Ochako, can you use your quirk to get us up there quietly?"

=/=

Midorya's foot, bent knee, and one hand landed on the gravely roof floor. His breathing was a little heavy as it too a lot of energy to get so high. His legs certainly didn't appreciate the work out and while they were not broken, they were bruised and battered. But it was worth it if it made Valerie happy.

"I made it," he said triumphantly into the phone. His gaze leapt all around, searching for her. "Where are you?"

"Here." She came from behind, not just her voice, but her breath against his ear, arms sliding around his waist.

Midoriya gasped, "Oh! Hey, how did- ngh." Before he could finish his sentence, Valerie gently bit his ear, then began sucking his earlobe. Her hands ran up his chest on either side, she held him tight from behind, pressing her breasts to his back, moaning softly into his ear. Chills rushed through him, again and again. These waves of pleasure cause his voice to tremble. "Oh, god... Val, I-"

"Izuku?"

He swallowed hard before shakily answering, "Ye-eah?"

"Do you think, if you jumped from this height, you'd die?"

An infinitesimal voice in the back of Midoriya's mind was screaming to break free and get away, but the rest of him was too caught up in the glorious rapture of Valerie's affection. "I-I think so," he nodded, tilting his head to the side so her mouth could cover more range. He moaned and finally dropped the phone, his hand reached back to grasp Valerie's head. "A-ah, Val, please..." the boy didn't even know what he was pleading for.

Valerie purred against his ear, running her fingertips down his arms. "Will you jump for me, baby?"

His body tensed slightly and his brow furrowed, but other than that, Midoriya couldn't pull away or stop responding to her touch, "W-what?"

"You can do it," she kissed his cheek and stroked the other. "I believe in you."

"B-but..."

"Think of how much it'll mean to Kacchan. You care about him don't you?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Mmm and do you know how happy it'll make me?" She pressed the side of her face to the back of his shoulder and hugged him tightly. "Please, do this for me, Izuku." She lifted her head and whispered into his ear. "You'll be my hero."

Despite the twisting pain overwhelming his heart, despite the fearful tears streaming down his face, Midoriya couldn't stop himself. "O-okay, Val... if," he sniffed. "If that's what you want."

She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his head around so her lips could reach his. Unlike their first kiss, Midoriya did not struggle. He put everything he had into that kiss, all the passion and desperation he felt in that moment. Begging her with his affection to allow him to keep living, to change her mind. But when he pulled away, it was evident that nothing had changed.

"Go on," she said sweetly, nodding to the ledge with a smile. "Do it for me."

A choked sob tore from his throat as Midoriya rose painfully to his feet. He slipped and collapsed back down to bended knee for a moment. But he pushed himself back up and staggered for the ledge. Images of the life he longed for flashed through his mind. "I'm sorry, Mom." He whimpered. "I'm sorry, All-Might." He reached the ledge and without hesitation, went to take that final step off the UA building.

"DEKU! DON'T YOU **FUCKING** DO IT!"


	13. Chapter 13

"DEKU, DON'T YOU **FUCKING** DO IT!"

Bakugou only needed Ochako's quirk to drift up covertly. When the explosive-quirked hero saw what was happening, the plan changed and not only did he need to be seen, he needed to make a shit-ton of noise! Letting go of Ochako, who had only used her quirk on herself, Bakugou activated his own quirk and shot himself at Midoriya.

He reached the green-haired boy just in time. When Bakgou's body collided into Midoriya's the blonde used one arm to hold his classmate against him, the other hand shot off another explosion to launch them away from one roof top, to the other. Even if Bakugou didn't have all the details, he knew getting Midoriya away from that evil bitch was priority.

The boy crashed down upon the roof of the front right building of UA and landed a fair distance from each other. Quick as he could, Bakugou jumped to his feet and stormed over to Midoriya, who was having a more difficult time getting up. Without a word, Bakugou stood over Midoriya with a foot on either side of his green-eyed rival. He stared down at him in disdain and shouted from the depths of his core, "YOU STUPID, FUCKING IDIOT!" His fist connected with Midoriya's cheek, holding nothing back, then grabbed the front of Midoriya's suit by the scruff of the neck and pulled him up. "WHAT ARE THINKING? WHAT ABOUT ONE-FOR-ALL? YOU'RE JUST GONNA LET ALL-MIGHT'S POWER DIE WITH YOU?" His grip tightened as he gave Midoriya a violent shake. "YOU SELFISH FUCK!"

Bakugou gasped as Midoriya's grasped his childhood friend's arms. "Kacchan," his weak voice trembled. "Please, help me." His gaze met Bakugou's with tremendous fear and desperation. "I don't want to die."

"What?" Bakugou's anger ebbed away and his glare weakened into something resembling genuine concern and intense confusion.

"I... I can't stop. I want to, but I can't, Kacchan. I have to do what she says. It hurts," Midoriya explained shakily. "It hurts so much if I fight it."

Suddenly, Bakugou understood. That girl. Her quirk wasn't mind control. It was something more subtle. Midoriya had faced mind control and come out on top already. This was different, but it was undeniably her influence, her fault. Kirishima. Midoriya. She had her claws in them. A deep growl rumbled from the young hero's throat as his rage came rushing back.

"That bitch. I'll kill her!" Bakugou stood up and dragged Midoriya up with him, still gripping the front of his suit. "Uraraka! Get over here!"

Ochako had been facing off with Valerie, but the villain knew Ochako's quirk and was quick to dodge. She shot a glare at Valerie before sprinting to the side ledge and leaping for the other building. Once over the roof, she released her quirk and dropped next to the boys. "'Is Deku alright?"

Bakugou shoved their friend into Ochako's arms. "Don't let him go. She's got some kind of hold on him and I think she's the one who put it in his head to kill himself."

"Oh god," Ochako's face broke with sadness as her gaze fell on him. "What are you gonna do? We need to get a teacher."

"No!" Bakugou shot back, tiny explosions going off in his hand. "This bitch fucked with the wrong useless assholes. She's mine."

Before Bakugou blasted off back to the original building, both Ochako and Midoriya both caught that crazed look in Bakugou's eye that they'd seen before. "Katsuki, wait!" Ochako called, but a second too late as he was already propelled forward by his explosive quirk. "Damn it!"

As the events around him began to process, Midoriya shook his head slowly at first, then he began to wriggle out of Ochako's hold. "No, no, no, no, no! I can't let him hurt her!" Midoriya screamed and thrashed. "Ochako, let go! I have to help her!"

Caught off guard by his abrupt and violent flailing, Ochako lost her grip on him and before she could stop him, she watched his already damaged legs call forth his power and aid his jump across the gap. Her heart sank as he could have just as easily thrown himself down, but apparently protecting Valerie was more important than killing himself at the moment. At least it kept him alive. Following close behind him, she reactivated her quirk to bound across as well.

A look of dread filled Valerie's expression as she was faced with Bakugou on her own. That look smoldered into relief when she saw Midoriya break free and follow him. She looked at Bakugou and smirked, "You know, I've heard about how god damn imposing you can be, how much of wrench you throw into plans, but I gotta say, your interference is really starting to get on my nerves."

Having to keep his eye on Midoriya and Valerie proved unbelievably frustrating and difficult. Ochako had reached him quick enough and was keeping him at bay for the moment. Bakugou knew she wouldn't be able to hold the idiot for long and using her quirk this high was a risky gamble. So he had to make this fast. Bakugou clenched his fist and shouted, "Who the hell are you? What are you after?"

Valerie wore a seductive expression as she laughed and goaded him, "Gimme I kiss and I just might tell you." She winked.

**Heroine**

**Real Name: Unknown**

**Her quirk: Addiction**

**All she has to do is lock lips with her target and expose them to her saliva. **

**Once she has, her voice gives the target a drug-like release that causes almost**

** immediate addiction. Once hooked, the target experiences actual symptoms of **

**withdraw if they are cut off from her. Her quirk seems to work ****exclusively on men.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Kiss this you evil skank!" Bakugou unleashed an explosion at her with more fury behind it than he'd ever felt.

Her reaction time was quicker than he anticipated. She was no amateur to combat, he realized as she swiftly dodged his attack. Her next move wouldn't have you believe that though.

"Izuku!" She cried, the feigned fright in her voice so convincing, Bakugou almost believed it. "Don't let him hurt me! Please!"

Bakugou gasped and darted his eyes in Midoriya's direction. "Stay back, Deku!" He yelled, bracing himself, ready to be ignored.

The green-haired boy did ignore him. He shoved Ochako off with more of his strength than was really necessary as Heroine's plea swallowed him whole. Wearing a look of conflict and regret, he made a b-line for Bakugou. "Please don't hurt her, Kacchan!" Midoriya shrieked.

This time, Midoriya's body collided into Bakgou's. At a short distance back, Midoriya jumped and landed behind Bakugou, holding the blonde back the same way Heroine had just been holding him. His arms under Bakugou's, hands grasping the front of Bakugou's shoulders. Distracted and trying to squirm out of Midoriya's inconvenient embrace. "Let me go, you idiot! Stop being so weak! Fight it! You-" His words were cut off by his own bloody choke and cough.

When his eyes shot forward again, Heroine's face was only inches from his. She wore a crazed smile. "I'm gonna catch all the flak for this, but I'm fucking sick of you." She twisted her wrists, causing Bakugou to let out a chilling scream.

That sound shook Midoriya to his core. He winced, still holding on tight, but looked down where Heroine's hands were. She was holding two knives, one in each hand and both of them were buried to the hilt in Bakugou's sides. When she ripped them out and the wound was exposed, it wasn't a pair of deep cuts. The knives were twisted, tri-blades and they left literal open holes that were draining Bakugou's blood at a terrifying speed.

"Noo!" Ochako screamed in a blind rage and attacked Heroine, landing powerful blow to the villain's abdomen.

The door to the stairwell flew open and several teachers entered the scene ready to fight. Heroine's eyes widened slightly, but she pulled her phone out, pressed a button and in an instant, a familiar, black and purple portal materialized behind her. "That's my cue, boys. I'll see ya soon." She grinned and stepped through the portal before Aizawa could reach her.

The loss of so much blood in such a short amount of time caused Bakugou to lose his balance and fall back against Midoriya. The green-haired boy felt as though a fog was clearing around him and he no longer felt that desperation to obey Heroine's every whim. His eyes filled with tears as he lowered Bakugou to the ground slowly, holding him in his arms. "Kacchan, I- this is all my fault." His voice shook with tears.

Bakugou scoffed, blood shooting from his mouth to Midoriya's green uniform. "God, what a stupid fucking way to die." Tears pricked his eyes as frustration and fear of the unknown began to swell. "Dek-eku," He struggled to speak and sounded as if he were choking. His unsteady hand grabbed Midoriya's arm. "Ah-All-All-Might was-was right... giving you his power. You des-s-serve," he coughed up more blood. "You deserve it, got that?"

"Don't do this, Kacchan. You have to hold on." He looked at the teachers around him. "Do something!" He screamed frantically. "Where is Recovery Girl?"

"Deku, look at me." Bakugou's thick words brought Midoriya's reluctant attention back down to his dying friend. "Don't you dare slow down, do you hear me? Don't let this... let this," As he fought the encompassing darkness, Bakugou growled and dug his nails into Midoriya's arm. "Earn it." The fading hero's death-grip tightened for an instant and pulled the green-haired boy close. Bakugou's sharp, ragged breath hit against his ear and finally a tearful, shaky whisper, "Earn this."

Midoriya felt the painful hold Bakugou had on his arm release slightly at first, then the young hero-in-training's arm fell at his side. Blood continued to pool around the two boys as Midoriya began to understand the reality of the situation. "Ka... Kacchan?" His frail voice called gently. His hands grasped both the blond boy's shoulders and shook a little. "Kacchan... no. No, this... this can't happen. You can't! You're supposed be the one I chase! We're supposed to get each other to the top! Kacchan, get up!" He paused, stricken with grief as Bakugou did not respond, he buried his face in Bakugou's chest and wept.

The teachers around them and Ochako stood by, also too shocked and pained to react right away. They listened to the cries and wails Midoriya continue to let out, but could find no words of comfort to offer. Bakugou Katsuki, one of the most powerful, hubristic, antagonizing, yet driven and inspiring students UA had ever known, was dead.

As the teachers were forced to pry Bakugou's lifeless body out of Midoriya's hands, All-Might did what he could to offer solace to his grieving student. Not in words, because simply put, there just weren't any. Nothing could be said to dull the pain of this loss. Anyone who knew Midoriya and Bakugou was well aware of that.

Instead, All-Might knelt down and embraced his successor. He stroked the boy's hair with one hand and offered a crushing hug with the other. At first Midoriya was unresponsive and grew silent, but the longer All-Might held him, the more time he had to relive everything that just happened. The more he thought about it, the more Midoriya was sure... this was utterly and completely his fault. His cries started again, quietly, then grew until he was screaming into All-Might's shoulder. His fist weakly hit All-Might's chest as he began repeating the same words over and over again.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

All-Might let the boy cry as long as he needed to. Eventually Midoriya's voice faded and he passed out in the retired hero's arms. As All-Might stood to carry the young student away, snow began to fall from the sky.


	15. Chapter 15

"You reckless... worthless piece of shit!" Shigaraki exploded, his fist flying across the table, knocking everything off. Glass shattered, even a chair fell, catching the tail end of the impact. "You did the exact opposite of what you were sent to do! You were supposed to **kill** Izuku Midoriya... take him away from All-Might the way he and that brat took my master from me! You were supposed to wreck the reputation of UA by making him commit suicide! You were supposed to break Bakugou's spirit by killing his rival and best friend, not by killing **him**!"

Rolling her eyes, Heroine shrugged lazily, unaffected by her employer's tantrum. "And I tried to do that, but shit happens and it didn't work out."

He stormed toward her and grabbed her by the throat, shoving her against the wall. "We spent months planning that, getting every detail perfect, convincing other villains to hold back and give the heroes a false sense of security. This was supposed to be the big punch, the resurgence of our rise, the beginning of the end!" His grip, minus one finger, tightened, "And you **_ruined_**it!"

Kurogiri stepped in and placed a hand on Shigaraki's shoulder. "You can't kill her, my friend. The last thing we need is a division between ourselves and America's league." He paused, allowing time for the decaying-quirked villain to release the girl. Once he did and she was on the floor gasping for air, the portal-quirked villain went on, "Besides, she didn't fail completely. He might not be All-Might's successor, but the loss of Bakugou Katsuki is going to leave a powerful impact on All-Might. He was still his student and a promising one at that. His heart is no doubt broken."

Shigaraki slapped Kurogiri off and jerked away. "I didn't just want his heart to _break_," the pale blue-haired villain hissed. "I wanted him to break beyond repair. I wanted his heart to shatter... the way I..." his angry words faded as he clutched his heart. He held the table to keep standing at least partially upright.

Behind him, Kurogiri offered to help Heroine stand, but she accepted no aid and rose to her feet on her own. "Look, I get the plan went to hell, but UA is still going to face incredible scrutiny for this one. Even if the suicide plan didn't work out, a student still died on campus... on their watch. There's no way the people are going to let this go."

"She's right, Shigaraki." Kurogiri agreed. "Give it time for the word to get out and just like we planned, our New Year's debut will come at time when the world has no hope left at all. We will burst out of the shadows and spread the darkness across the world."

It some reflection and a much longer time than Heroine had patience for, but Shigaraki felt a sense of truth to what his accomplice was saying. It wasn't perfect, but there was a major shift made. Things had been set in motion and the world was about to be shaken up. One death. The death of a child was all it was going to take. It was almost time. It was almost their time.

And Shigaraki knew, All-for-One would be proud.

**=/=**

The day they laid Bakugou Katsuki to rest was a cold one, with full cloud cover and snowfall. It was as if all the warmth of the world had been sucked away. Despite the frigid weather, however, the attendance of his funeral was something worthy of any pro-hero. Throughout the days leading up to the ceremony itself, thousands of vigils and memorials were set up with pictures, candles and notes expressing admiration for the fallen hero.

Every one of his teachers attended and offered their respects. Eighteen of Bakugou's nineteen classmates were in attendance as well, each one of them sporting a flashy, black ribbon with orange edges tied around their upper arms. The gesture was a true testament to just how much of an impression Bakugou left on his peers and how close knit class 1-A had grown.

Many faces were tear-stained and several students showed genuine difficulty in holding their emotions together. More than once, Yaoyorozu broke down and had to cover hear eyes. Todoroki lent her his shoulder each time, but in hopes of showing the same strength Bakugou always did, Yaoyorozu politely declined and held her head high. A small circle of class 1-A's girls offered their support to each other in a tearful, loving group hug. Their heads bowed in sadness, their hands pressed to each other's backs. Uraraka was shaking the entire time.

Many of the boys wept openly as well, only a handful making a failed attempts to keep their tears from falling. Of course, when Katsuki's mother stepped in front of the microphone and began to talk about her son, everyone lost it and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. ... Well, almost.

The one student who did not shed even a single tear was Kirishima.

"I know you're all about being manly," Kaminari commented, "but you understand that we all know he was your best friend. It's okay for you to show let out whatever you're feeling."

Kirishima didn't respond. He barely spoke at all that day. To tell the truth, he shouldn't have even been out of bed. He was still right in the middle of rehab and recovery from Heroine's power. It was something he had to do, though. Because if he didn't attend, if he didn't fight through his misery and face this, it would eat at him more than his guilt already was.

At the close of her eulogy, Mitsuki slipped her hand into her husband's for strength and took a deep breath. "We know that so many people want to blame UA for our tremendous loss... but if you can search your heart for some grace and understand as we do... that our boy strived to be a hero and... and some times... this is just what comes of such a path. The students, the staff, his teachers, they loved him just as we ever did and I ask you to show Katsuki's favorite teacher... the same respect you've shown me," she bowed. "Thank you." When she stood back up, she gracefully forced a painful smile and gently called, "Aizawa Shota."

All eyes turned to the distraught teacher. He was technically well-dressed for the formal occasion, but anyone who didn't know him could see he was a wreck. His long dark hair was brushed back, exposing every emotion in his face. His already tired eyes were more pitiful than usual, red and puffy. When he reached the podium, Mitsuki embraced him tightly for a long time, her husband did the same. The gesture visibly took the teacher by surprise and made it even more difficult to speak than he already anticipated for.

In the crowd, All-Might had to step out. He couldn't breathe already and hearing whatever Aizawa had to say... the retired hero knew that would just push him further over the edge. Once he was a fair distance from the ceremony, All-Might collapsed to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, my boy." He sang to the sky. "Forgive me. I... I wish I could have done more for you."


	16. Chapter 16

The television screen held on Aizawa as he prepared to give his speech. Peering through the comforter that covered his whole body, including his head, Midoriya steeled himself for Aizawa's speech by pulling the blanket tighter around him. He took a deep breath and held it, watching closely.

"I just wanna say... I'm gonna win." Aizawa began with a straight face. Recognizing those words, select people across the audience chuckled through their tears. So did Midoriya and he choked out a small laugh. Unlike Bakugou, Aizawa followed those words up with more he had to say, "For those of you who don't know or don't remember, that was Katsuki's greeting to the world of heroes. That was his brash, arrogant, inappropriate, speech at the UA sports festival. And it fit, because... Katsuki was arrogant. He _**was **_inappropriate and he _**was **_brash. But... he was also right. He **_did _**win. He took home gold he didn't feel he deserved because his competition did not give it his all. He rejected the wins he did not feel worthy of. This boy had pride and more ambition than I've ever known." His voice began to waver, so he had to pause and build up the strength to keep going. "As teacher who is also a hero, on the darker days, because there are many, you find yourself questioning whether or not you're making a difference. You think about... morbid things, like... if I don't walk away from a battle, will my students be alright? Did I do enough? Did I teach them what they're gonna need to get by? Have I reached anyone in a way that deeply matters? Will one of them see it as an honor to have known me, maybe even speak at funeral? They tell us we're not supposed to have favorites... and there's a good chance I'll be reprimanded for this, but... Katsuki was hands down, my favorite student and I decided not too long ago that if anything did happen to me, I'd hope he was the student who took it upon themselves to speak on my behalf." He covered a choked sob by clearing his throat. "I, uh... I never expected it to be the other way around. As heroes, we slow dance with death. So... Katsuki's end is not a surprise, but it is a shock. It is a loss. It is a... un-**fucking**-bearable tragedy and I wish I had words strong enough, sharp enough to cut through to the one who took him. I wish I could make them understand what a mistake they've made taking him from us. Because they have no idea. They can't... possibly comprehend what a light this boy was and what a... monstrous, evil thing it was to snuff it out. I..." he broke again, voice growing evermore unsteady. "I'm sorry. I just... the last thing I need you all to understand, is that no matter what the law says, or what the records state, no matter what ends up written in the history books, Bakugou Katsuki died a hero."

If Aizawa had more to say, he was unable to do so in that moment. Midoriya watched with an endless stream of tears rolling down his face as his teacher stepped away from the microphone and off the podium. The green-haired boy bowed his head and wept. Those words Aizawa clearly meant for Heroine, cut deep into Midoriya's heart and he accepted them as he took full responsibility. Despite how many times he had been told otherwise.

"He was trying to protect me. He... he died because I was reckless. I was stupid... and weak... and it's all my fault," he sobbed to himself in his characteristic mumbling. "I've gotta make it right. I have to atone for this."

It had not been the easiest past week for him. On top of dealing with the loss of his childhood friend and the guilt that came with that, Midoriya was still detoxing from Heroine's infliction. When he wasn't crying, he was vomiting, and shaking. When he wasn't breaking out in cold sweat, his entire body ached for a release he could not have. And if that wasn't enough, Midoriya was still working through the urge Heroine put in him to kill himself. So between the detoxing, the suicidal thoughts, and the grieving, his mother was called in to watch her boy for the time being.

No one was surprised when she arrived, going on about pulling her Izuku out of UA. The last straw had been the last straw and it was only All-Might's promise to protect her boy that kept Midoriya enrolled. This time it took a great deal more convincing from Midoriya. Through chattering teeth and tears, he begged her not to give up on him. He told her Bakugou's last words and that's when she started to give a little. It appeared her heart was getting stronger and taking these sort of travesties in stride. Midoriya was so thankful for that.

He had so much healing to do. Not just physically this time, but mentally and emotionally. This was an irrefutable win for the villains, but the war wasn't over and even though they knocked Deku down several pegs, he was going to get up again. He was going to make Kacchan proud. He'd overcome this and carry on. He'd live for both of them. It was the least he could do. Maybe his mother felt the same way. Bakugou Katsuki did help keep her son safe after all. Maybe she felt the least she could do was allow his final request to be fulfilled.

**=/=**

Ten days after Bakugou's death, Midoriya was ready to step out into the world again. He learned that day that he would not be taking his finals alone. In fact, all of class 1-A refused to take their final exams without Midoriya. Tears of gratitude filled his eyes as he thanked them all.

The class was quiet and Bakugou's vacant desk made the whole room feel so empty despite everyone else being present. The next two days were crammed with tests, written and physical. There was a solemn determination among the students of class 1-A as they worked hard together to pass.

Pass they did. Together. Extraordinary scores all the way around.

Of course, there was little to no room for celebration in their hearts. Even if they were not in the midst of dealing with the loss of their classmate, everyone knew that UA was facing serious allegations. There were whispers that the school would not even reopen, threatening to deprive the first-years of their heroic pursuits. Still, on their last day, Aizawa wished his students a pleasant winter break and assured them that they'd see each other in the spring.

After packing the last few things he wanted to take home, Midoriya stepped out of his dorm and shut the door. Most everyone else had gone home, but when he walked out of the building, he noticed Kirishima heading off alone. Midoriya hesitated calling out to him at first, but something inside the green-haired hero pushed him to do so.

"Hey, Kirishima!" He shouted pleasantly as he sprinted forward. "Wait up!"


	17. Chapter 17

Kirishima did not stop. He didn't slow down or even look over his shoulder when Midoriya called to him. That said, Kirishima's pace did not quicken either, nor did he express any objection. Just to be safe though, his green-haired classmate greeted him with a nervous smile and asked, "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Mm."

Well, it wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no, either. So Midoriya readjusted his backpack and walked alongside his hardening-quirked classmate. "I had a harder time with that written portion of the exam than I expected, what about you?"

"Mm." Kirishima at least shrugged that time.

As they stepped over UA's official campus line, Midoriya sighed softly and struggle with how to repair the friendship they barely had in the first place. His head dipped forward, allowing his green hair to fell over his eyes as he clung tight to the straps of his backpack. "Kirishima," his tone took on a more menacing rasp than he intended, "If you've got something you want to say, I wish you'd just come out with it."

Finally, he evoked something new. Kirishima's steps came to a halt. He didn't look up from the ground, but he did speak at last. "What do you want me to say?" His hands trembling in his pockets.

Neither of the boys looked at each other. They stood in silence for some time. Midoriya finally worked up the courage to speak up, but once he got started, it all came up like word vomit. "You blame me, right? For what happened to Kacchan? I wouldn't hold it against you if you did, but... I-I just gotta know. I have to know so that I can try to fix it. Because you... you and the rest of the class, you guys are my family. I know that... that I can never make up for Kacchan's death, but I don't want you to hate me for it." Desperate, Midoriya reached out and took hold of Kirishima's sleeve without looking at the young man. "Please," he sniffled, "Please, tell me what I can do to fix this."

"Midoriya..." Kirishima's voice surprised his classmate. It was so... gentle and "Midoriya, I don't blame you."

That one sentence lifted the green-haired boy's heart as well as his head. "Y-you don't?" When his gaze looked upon Kirishima again, the red-eyed hero was looking back at him with tears in his eyes.

Shaking his head and wiping his eyes, Kirishima scoffed, "Don't you think I understand? More than anyone else, don't you think I get it? She worked both of us over. Of course, I know what happened wasn't your fault. Of course, I don't blame you.** No one** blames you, Izuku." He paused and in that silence, Midoriya felt a brief moment of relief, but when Kirishima opened his mouth again, that relief turned back to heartache. "If it's anyone's fault he's dead... it's mine."

"No..." Midoriya his fragile voice uttered, "Kirishima-"

"It is," he cut Midoriya off softly, shrugging weakly, a sad and ironic laugh behind his words. "I was her ticket in. I'm the one who brought her around. I'm the one who... who hit him that night," the pain in his chest became too much to bear and his hand clutched the front of his school uniform. "Do you realize that was the last time I saw him? I don't even remember him finding me! The last memory I have of him is when I told him to get out of my room! How the hell am I supposed to deal with that? How the hell am I supposed to move forward when I didn't get a chance to apologize?"

For the first time since he heard the news of his best friend's death, Kirishima wept. He might have held back if there had been more people around them, but the sidewalk was fairly empty and the cars that passed were going too fast to matter. Still, he wasn't loud or obnoxious about it, but he didn't hold anything back either. The tears flowed freely and his sobs were strong and relentless.

Midoriya knew Kirishima's absurd commitment to manliness probably wouldn't appreciate it, but it felt like the right thing to do. Without saying anything, Midoriya hugged his classmate with all his might. His arms wrapped around Kirishima's shoulders and squeezed tightly. His hands balled into fists.

At first Kirishima entire body stiffened, like a defense mechanism used to keep himself from feeling. The last time he let someone in and show him any kind of affection, it ended in disaster. So it took a few moments for the young red-haired student to react favorably. In a slow, cautious series of hesitant movements, his arms found their way under Midoriya's and hugged back. They stood like that for a considerable amount of time before Midoriya began to speak again.

"Look..." he pulled away gently and offered an encouraging smile. "Maybe that's something we can help each other with, you know? Working through this is going to hard as hell, but maybe we can... sort of offer each other support when the other needs it? If you get to down on yourself about what happened, reach out and-and I'll do the same." Midoriya realized suddenly that was a lot to ask, so he back peddled quickly. "I mean, if that's okay with you, of course."

"Yeah," Kirishima nodded and used his sleeve to wipe his eyes again. "I might take you up on that." He sniffed. "Thank you, Izuku."

Something in Midoriya's expression changed. There was a fierce look in his eye as he said, "We can't let them get away with it, Kirishima. Whatever it takes, let's get stronger and see to it that Heroine, Shigaraki, all of 'em, answer their crimes, alright?" He reached out and offered Kirishima his hand to clasp in the manliest high-five.

Kirishima blinked. His mind raced, trying to figure out who it was Midoriya suddenly reminded him of. That wild, unstoppable blaze in his eyes; that smug, almost cocky smirk; that sharp, unforgiving tone. It was all so familiar.

Hesitantly, the hardening-quirked student, reached out and accepted his classmate's hand. "Yeah." For the second time that day, Kirishima did something he'd been unable to do for a long while. He smiled. "I'm in, bro. Let's bring these asshole down."

Midoriya squeezed Kirishima's hand before releasing it. "Just wait," he declared with so much confidence. "The League of Villains won't know what _fucking_ hit 'em."


	18. Chapter 18

Every punch Midoriya threw seemed to go straight through his adversary. No matter how much power he put behind each blow, his could just couldn't make contact. For most of the fight, there was nothing but a blur in the place where his attacker's face should have been. The aggressor's strikes against him grew stronger and the more blows he landed, the clearer a cruel smile appeared within the blur.

A frustrated scream tore from the green-eyed boy's throat as he grew impatient, throwing blind punches. He ducked his head low and just kept throwing his fists out, waiting for something to connect. Finally, something happened! With a gasp, he jerked his gaze up to see what kind of dent he made. Except what he found brought no victory to his heart.

"Deku... you bastard." Bakugou's face was suddenly clear as day and his hushed, growl shook with pain.

Midoriya dragged his eyes back down and saw his own hand no longer clenched in an empty fist, but holding the knife that killed Bakugou. He had plunged it deep into his childhood best friend's stomach. With a shriek, Midoriya snapped his hand away from the knife, leaving it stuck in the explosive student's body.

"Kacchan, I-I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!" He cried, holding his bloody hands out defenselessly.

"You did," Bakugou snarled as he staggered forward, clutching the wound. "You wanted me out of the way so you could be number one! You couldn't stand that thought of me beating you! You never beat me, do you hear me? I didn't lose to you! I'll never lose! Not to a useless loser like you!" Despite the knife shoved into his abdomen, Bakugou showed only vague traces of fatigue as stomped slowly toward Midoriya.

Shaking his head, keeping his hands up, the One-for-All heir stepped backwards, whimpering in fear. "K-K-Kacchan, please. I-I didn't want this. You were my best friend."

With a smirk Bakugou finally reached him. The blond hero took Midoriya roughly by the scruff of his hero costume and slammed his upper body forward. No impact was made though and when Midoriya looked down, he realized they were on the roof of the same UA building that he nearly jumped off of.

"Say it," Bakugou demanded.

Midoriya clung desperately to Bakugou's arms and sobbed, "What? What do you want me to say? Kacchan, please!"

A growl fueled with such frustration and rage seem to rumbled from the depths of Bakugou's soul. "Admit that you wanted this! Admit that you're glad I'm dead! Say it, Deku! Confess! You got everything you ever wanted and now that I'm gone, there's nothing standing in your way!"

"No, Kacchan, I didn't- ngh!" He fought hard to get away, to no avail. "I loved you, Kacchan! You were my best friend! Even at your worst, I could never hate you! You gotta believe me! I never wanted this!"

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven, fifty-six," the sound of a crowd counting down numbers rang in Midoriya's ears, but also seemed to be coming from really far away at the same time.

When Bakugou looked up, Midoriya followed his gaze and gasped at the sight. The night sky was lit with explosions. It was a beautiful and terrifying sight to behold.

"Fifty-five, fifty-four, fifty-three," the voices chanted on.

As those dark and vengeful red eyes fell back on Midoriya, he resumed struggling to break free of Bakugou's grip. The blond pulled his fearful classmate closer so that his mouth was a just few inches from Midoriya's ear. "Keep telling yourself that, you worthless sack of shit," and with those parting words, Bakugou shoved his classmate forward and released him to the mercy of gravity.

"Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six, forty-five..."

Midoriya's screams were unable deafening but unable to drown out the voices counting down. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact when he felt a firm hand shaking his leg. "Deku? Deku! DEKU, WAKE UP!"

"Forty-four, forty-three, forty-two, forty-one..."

The sight Midoriya found when his eyes flew open was a welcome one. He was home. His mother was sitting in her chair and all around the two of them were his classmates. Iida, Kirishima, Hagakure, Ashido, Sero, and sitting right beside him, the one whose voice had just been calling him, Ochako.

Memories of what this reality came rushing back to him. Since his mother was not keen on the idea of letting him go out just yet, a few of his classmates who had not volunteered to work security that night, offered to come over and celebrate the new year together. That terrifying incident of him fighting and stabbing Bakugou, before being thrown off the UA building... it was all just a dream.

"Forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six..."

"Are you alright, Deku?" Ochako inquired with concern. Her hand rested gently on his arm. "I was just going to let you sleep, but then you.. you sounded like you were in pain."

"I'm alright, Ochako," he feigned a convincing smile and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, just uh... had a little nightmare. I'm fine." There was a strong sense of disbelief in her eyes as they looked him over so he took a different approach to persuading her that he was alright, "Would you mind if I kissed you?"

"Wh-huh?"

"I mean at midnight?"

"You mean in twenty seconds?" She scoffed a nervous laugh.

He smiled boldly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..."

She didn't say yes with her words and for an instant, Midoriya caught a trace of doubt and sadness cross her face, but before he could withdraw his request, she smiled at him lovingly. Despite trying to withhold his enthusiasm, Midoriya felt a smile break across his face, the corners nearly touching his ears. His heart was still racing from the adrenaline of the nightmare he just woke from, but he pushed those thoughts down so to enjoy this moment. Keeping their eyes on each other, he and Ochako joined in, awkwardly counting down with the rest of the world.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

Midoriya winced at the painful rate his heart was beating, like his chest could barely contain it as he leaned in closer to Ochako. He licked his dry lips and exhaled shakily.

"Five, four, three, two, one..."

As the two teens moved to close the last few inches between them, the words, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" were cut off by a the sounds of explosions and screams.


	19. Chapter 19

"Woah, what the hell?" Kirishima said the words everyone else was thinking.

Every set of eyes was glued to the television, watching intently, afraid to blink and miss anything. A collective gasp and sounds of disgust echoed throughout the room as the host of the New Year's Eve broadcast seemed to melt away. His elderly form, pooling down his body, revealing another face beneath the one he had only just worn. Suddenly the wild-eyed, crazed smile of Himiko Toga was staring into the camera.

"Do me a favor and keep rolling, sugar." She grinned at the obviously trembling camera man. "I've got a message for the people!" She cleared her throat and began what sounded like a well-rehearsed speech. "Heroes and villains of Japan! Happy New Year! It's time to reign in the new year with a new status quo! All-Might is gone. UA has failed and as of... mmm, two minutes ago, Shiketsu High School went kablewie!"

"What?" Iida rose to his feet. "She's bluffing, right? There's no way-"

His words were cut off by his own silence as the footage cut to their rival school's campus in flames. Debris still hung on the air as the disaster had clearly just occurred. The screen filled with static then returned to Toga.

"Why has no one apprehended her? What's going on?" Ochako cried. "I thought there was a whole bunch of extra security tonight."

Toga continued, "So that's it for the age of heroes, I think. When you crazy kids counted down just now, you helped us usher in a new era! Strap in for the days ahead because we're looking at the wake of the Anti-Hero Age! And to kick this party off right, we've got a special, special surprise for everyone!" She looked off camera and twirled as she sang, "Kurogiiiiriii! Could you drop our guests over here for the folks at home?"

Several purple portals appeared around the villainous girl and from those portals, a mass of motionless bodies fell. The cameraman shrieked and for a moment, anyone sensitive to motion sickness would have had a difficult time watching as he regained his composure. The screen still shook, but at least it held in one direction and that was toward the countless bodies on the ground around him.

Some of them still had their eyes wide open, staring lifelessly into the void. Some eyes were shut. Some of the bodies were charred. Some were bloody and slashed. One thing they all had in common... their uniforms suggested positions of authority. A great deal of them were police officers, but there were also soldiers, generals, security officers. Pro heroes, Edgeshot and even Mt. Lady were among the dead. There had to be at least fifty bodies littering the ground.

"Oh, god," Midoriya's mother covered her mouth, shaking at the gruesome sight.

Through the portals in which the bodies were thrown, villains stepped out, joining Toga on screen. Shigaraki. Twice. Dabi. And... she was there... Heroine.

The high school students around Inko shared her distraught reaction. All of them wearing expressions filled with a combination of deathly fright, shock, and confusion. Midoriya didn't realize it, but tears were streaming down his face. Seeing Heroine again made his bones hurt, his veins ache.

"So ya see, we've been quite for a while, but we've been very busy bees!" Toga giggled, leaping from one body to another with one leg, like a twisted game of hopscotch. "We're here and we're coming for you!" She blew a kiss and winked, "Happy New Year!"

The broadcast ended with Toga producing a blade, seemingly out of nowhere and flung it at the camera. The man filming screamed as the footage went berserk again and the last thing anyone heard was him shout, "Help me!" After that, it was nothing but static.

Silence fell over the room, but as they were in an apartment building, the distinct sound of panic erupted from the public hall and from each direction of shared walls. From outside, there was pandemonium as well. People were scared and there was no one to offer a solution.

"We have to go!" Iida motioned. "They've essentially just launched a full out terrorist attack!"

"Iida, hold on! None of us even have out our hero outfits and we don't know what villains re near us. We'd be walking blind into a battlefield. We need a plan." Ochako argued.

"How are we supposed to plan without knowing what's going on?" Ashido shot back.

At that moment, Inko stood up. "I'm sorry, kids, but none of you are leaving this apartment until I get expressed permission from your parents. I'd prefer it if they could pick you up themselves, but if you can at least reach them via phone call. I will NOT be sending ANY of you out to put your lives on the line for nothing" She declared firmly.

Before any of them could respond all of their phones buzzed at the same time. With the exception of Kirishima and Midoriya, the students pulled out their phones. Yaoyorozu had created a group chat that included the entire class. The group name was titled: CHECKING IN.

**Creati:** Everyone. Plz respond if you're okay.

Iida turned to the phone floating beside him. "Hagakure, would you let her know that the," he paused, "six of us are together with Deku and his mother at their apartment and that we're safe? I need to think. We have to figure out a plan of action. The rest of you, for now, hand your phones over to Mrs. Midoriya so that she may contact our parents."

Hagakure nodded even though no on could see. "Right." Her thumbs gliding across the tiny keyboard.

**Inviz-Gurl:** Uravity, Ingenium, Alien Queen, Cellophane, Red Riot SAFE. Deku's w/him and mama midoriya

**EPjack:** Fropper n me SAFE

**CantStopWontStopTWINKLING:** Safe

**Sugarman:** Safe

**Tentacole:** Safe

**Tskukuyomi:** Safe.

**Creati:** Thank God. Has anyone heard from Shoto?

**Shoto:** Safe. Sorry. Fighting. Where are you, Creati?

**Creati:** Party at my parent's friend's. Not in Japan.

**ChargeBOLT:** Safe

**Creati:** 3 Stay safe, guys.

**Creati:** Has anyone heard from Bakugou?

**Creati:** Shit.

**Creati:** I'm sorry.

**Creati:** I'M SORRY.

**Creati:** Fuck, I'm SO sorry.

**Inviz-Gurl:** Creati, it's ok. 3 we understand.

**EPjack:** don't sweat it, creati.

**CANTSTOPWONTSTOPTWINKLING:** perfectly understandable, cheri

**Inviz-Gurl:** anyone know if Anima, Grape Juice, and Tailman are safe?

**Tantacole:** Teachers too?

As the text conversation carried on and Inko worked on getting through to the children's parents, Midoriya sat in a cold sweat, silent, holding both sides of his head. He wasn't in the same room as his friends anymore. He was with her. He could hear hear, smell her, feel hear. .She was pressed to his skin. She was running through his veins. It was impossible to shake, this feeling of... what he knew now to be addiction.

He wished someone would notice. He wished someone would pull him out of it. He wished... god, he wished... he wished he didn't feel this way.

"Hey," a strong hand came down upon his knee and rested there. "You're alright. She's not here."

When Midoriya looked up he found Ochako and Kirishima next to him. Ochako pulled his hand into hers, interlacing their fingers with one and stroking his scars with the other. Deep compassion and worry filled her expression. "Talk to us, Deku. We're here."

Kirishima kept his hand on Midoriya's knee and his eyes focused on his classmate's face. Unlike Ochako, Kirishima was not sitting beside Midoriya on the couch. He was squatting down in front of Midoriya. "She's right. You're not alone. Remember what you said to me? About being there for each other? I'm feeling it, too, man. But we can beat this."

Had they not been surrounded by friends, Kirishima and Midoriya both knew that they probably would have made a break for it the second they saw Heroine on the television. Just seeing her after weeks of utter silence was a strong blow to the progress both boys had made. Thankfully, they had each other. They had their friends. That didn't make things all better, but it helped more than they could ever explain.


	20. Chapter 20

"Thanks, you guys." Midoriya managed to utter quietly. "I'm alright though."

He wasn't. He was so very far from alright, but the struggle was so much deeper than he could explain, even to Kirishima. There was so much going on. So much that needed fixing. The villains were running rampant. He basically just confessed to having feelings for Ochako. There was that dream he just had, not for the first time, which he still needed to sort out. Was a moment to breathe, a single moment to think really just too damn much to ask for?

'_No! Focus. This isn't the time to lose sight of your priorities. Pull yourself together._'

He brought himself back to the world around him and keyed in on Iida and Sero's conversation. "The first thing we need to do is let the people know that there's still heroes out there, that this fight isn't over. We can't let them give in to fear like this. How do we go about getting a broadcast like that out?"

"I guess we could make a break for the news station, but there's no way a couple of almost second-year high school students are going to make anyone feel better about this. We need to get All-Mi-... or... I... I guess Endeavor, maybe?" Ashido hated suggesting it, but with All-Might's weak and retired form, she realized they'd probably be better off doing it themselves.

Kirishima, though still at Midoriya's side offered his two cents, "Honestly, the guy's never been concerned with the well-being of 'the people'. Besides, we're not just almost second year students. We're class 1-A at UA Academy. The people know us by now, we've seen that."

Midoriya, regaining his strength as he listened to his friends, joined in. "He's right. Ashido, I get what you're saying and if any other heroes manage to get the message out before us, that's great, but even a small bit of hope right now would do the citizens good, don't you think?"

The students looked at each other in silence for a moment. Without saying a word, they agreed. Hagakure was the first to speak. "Mrs. Midoriya, here's my phone!" She rushed over to the soft-featured mother. "Did you get a hold of anyone?"

Inko explained how she managed to reach Ochako's family, Iida's, and Kirishima's. However Sero and Ashido's were not answering. She also said that of the three she did reach, all of them were given permission to leave the apartment and fight, but all of them wanted to hear from their kids beforehand. So she passed out those three phones and tried Hagakure's, then she'd try the other two again.

It surprised Midoriya how focused and proactive his mother was in that moment. She was such a protector, he knew that much, but she wasn't panicking at all. He wondered what the chances were of her actually letting him leave with his classmates. While Ochako and Iida stepped to separate corners to talk to their folks, Kirishima remained next to Midoriya.

"I'm almost thinking we shouldn't even try for our costumes." The faux redhead said thoughtfully. "If the villains are going around specifically targeting heroes tonight, would we be better off just looking like regular citizens?"

"That'd be a risky move. Some us have costumes that enhance our powers." Midoriya hemmed. "Suppose you could mention it to the others and they can decide what they want to do?"

Kirishima nodded. "Sounds good," just as he did, Ochako returned from her conversation with her parents and sat beside Midoriya. "Right, I'm check in with mom and pops. Give me just a sec."

An incredibly awkward smile was exchanged between Midoriya and Ochako. They sat in silence for a moment, then started speaking at the same time.

"Listen. Oh, sorry. You first. Heh."

"You, go ahead," Ochako sighed in relief as something finally didn't come out in unison.

Midoriya hesitated, dropping his gaze to his hand on the couch. "I just... before we get out there and anything happens. I wanted you to know that I... I'm sorry if I was too forward before. Asking to kiss you, I mean. I've just been thinking a lot since we lost Kacchan and I'm starting to kind of have this... this 'no day, but today' mentality, heh. It seems like a good thing most of the time, but then I do something stupid like try to kiss you."

"Deku," Ochako cut him of, sure he would keep rambling if she let him. Her hand squeezed his again reassuringly. "Let's worry about the fight for now and afterwards, we can talk about this, okay?"

Midoriya couldn't figure out why, but there were tears in Ochako's eyes. Tears that wouldn't fall, but tears none the less. Full of, god... such staggering sadness and such deep regret. Clearly, she didn't feel the same way... and you know what, he was okay with that. He knew he was being irrational and reckless, anyway.

"A-Alright," he nodded. "Yeah, that-that's, let's do that." Setting that distraction firmly to the side, new resolve and purpose burned in his eyes. "You ready?"

"Not a bit! You?" She grinned, wiping her eye.

"Not even close," he confessed behind a soft bit of nervous laughter.

At that moment, Inko clapped her hands. "Okay, so! Mr. Sero and Miss Hagakure, your parents are asking for you to stay put. They are on their way to come and pick you up. Miss Ashido, I haven't been able to reach your family yet, so I'd prefer you stay."

"We can't wait around for things to get worse," Iida clenched his fist feeling held back.

Rising to his feet, Midoriya walked into the kitchen area where his mother was making her calls. "'Mom, are you going to let me go with my friends?"

Inko stared at the table where she sat and answered softly. "I'll be honest, Izuku. Listening to half these parents give their children, their babies permission to go out and put their lives on the line tonight... I just kept thinking, why? How could you do that to your own sons or daughter? But sitting here... listening to you all talk like heroes... thinking like heroes. I guess, I'm starting to really see that... you're not my baby anymore, Izuku. I can't stop you and if I try, I'd just be holding you back from doing what your heart has always told you." She looked up at him with tears spilling down her face. "So, yes... you can go... but please, please come back to me, Izuku."


	21. Chapter 21

Ashido was a trooper. She was not fond of the idea of staying behind, but she decided to look at it from the best perspective. "You know what, it's fine. You guys go ahead. I'll either get picked up by my parents or I'll stay here and watch over Mama Midoriya."

Her words visibly touched her green-haired classmate. "Are you sure?" He asked.

The smile she graced him with was one without resentment or regret as she winked and gave a thumbs up. "I got you, Deku."

Feeling words wouldn't quite be enough to convey the gratitude he felt, Midoriya hesitantly opened his arms. "Can... can I hug you?"

Ashido had to roll her eyes up to keep tears from falling as she laughed, "Of course." Even though she was expecting his embrace, the strength he used show his affection felt like it nearly broke her back. "Ack! Okay! Deku, easy."

When he let her go, his hands lingered on her arms a moment and his gaze latched onto hers. "Thank you, Mina."

She nodded, smiling sweetly, then looked at the rest of her friends. "Be careful, okay?"

As Ochako hugged their pink friend, Kirishima placed a hand on Ashido's shoulder. "You, too."

Her arm lifted, resting on his on her shoulder and gave it a firm, appreciate squeeze.

Once all the goodbyes were said, Midoriya, Iida, Hagakure, Ochako, and Kirishima opened the door and bolted out from the safety of Midoriya's apartment. It was their time to fight. It was their time to shine. Their hearts were filled with equal parts determination and fear. From the sound of things, they truly were running head first into a war zone.

It wasn't far off. Upon making their way down the steps and into the street, the students of class 1-A found carnage. There were several cars on fire. Aggressors were chasing innocents. Screaming could be hear from every direction. It was like something out of a nightmare. Midoriya almost wanted to run back up the stairs and join Ashido in protecting his mother.

The world they knew was burning away, rotting away. It was dying. Right before their eyes. Their world of heroes and happy endings was dying.

"Well," Kirishima flashed his sharp-toothed grin and lifted his determined fist. "No turning back now, guys."

His cheerfulness made its way through the rest of them and gave his classmates the courage to power through. "Right!" Iida smiled. "We can do this!"

"Let's go!" Ochako was the first to run out, followed closely by Midoriya, then the others.

**=/=**

The path from Midoriya's apartment to the local news station was littered with obstacles they were forced to face. At one point, Kirishima asked, "What are we supposed to do with the criminals we bring down? We don't have time to take them in and I... I don't want to kill anyone."

"For now we just push through them," Midoriya answered to everyone's agreement. "We press on as fast as we can and once we've got the message out, we'll plan from there."

Over the course of their, the group chat continued to ping. They relied on Hagakure to update them. One text confirmed that Mineta had been killed in an attack that took place in Tokyo. He wasn't specifically targeted, but caught in the open fire of a long range quirked villain. There simply was no time to mourn, but every one of them felt that blow. Another one of their own was gone.

Shoto texted at one point that his brother and sister were going to watch over their mother, but that he and Endeavor were still taking on villains as best they could, along with several others from the same agency. He asked if anyone needed help and when no one did, he wrote, "My father and the other heroes can handle what's happening here. If any one of find yourself in a precarious position, please contact me. I will come."

The small group of classmates were silent as they continued running. A grateful smile touched all of their faces, but it was Midoriya who yelled to Hagakure, "Tell him thank you from all of us."

It ended up taking over three times as long as it would have on a normal night to get to the station. As they skidded to a halt, turning the corner, at last coming to the right street, they were relieved to see the building had not gone up in flames. That much could not be said for a good forty percent of the rest of the city buildings.

"So, what's the plan? We just go in and... send out the broadcast?" Hagakure asked.

"Obviously," Kirishima spat impatiently. "What are we waiting for?"

Iida threw his hands out and pushed his classmates behind him and back around the corner. "Get back!" He shouted, stepping out of the line of sight from the news station, himself.

"What? What happened? What did you see?" Midoriya asked.

"The building is being guarded." Iida explained. "We were bold to assume the villains wouldn't set themselves up in a position to broadcast fear and whatever else is in their agenda."

Gritting his teeth, Midoriya peered carefully around the corner, catching a glimpse of the obvious guards, making leisure rounds along the station's perimeter. He turned back to his classmates and shook his head. "This doesn't change anything. We made it this far and we're not going to let a few no-name villain security guards fucking stop us."

Taken slightly aback by the uncharacteristically vulgar language from Midoriya of all people, Iida stumbled over his words, "Y- we... I assume you have a plan?"

There is was again. Kirishima recognized that brash grin on Midoriya's from when they walked together the other day. Fearless. Unstoppable. There was almost a rage behind it. This time, in a moment of high stakes, when Midoriya replied in a fired up, gravely voice, "Bet your ass I do," it all suddenly made sense to Kirishima. The mannerisms. The cursing. The fierce determination in his eyes.

Midoriya sounded just like Bakugou.


	22. Chapter 22

While the students of class 1-A fought their own battles, their homeroom teacher opened his eyes slowly. He blinked several times before understanding that he was caught beneath the rubble of a building. He happened to be standing next to it when it exploded.

His legs were most certainly broken and between his faulty vision, his inability to string thoughts together easily and the ringing in his ears, Aizawa expected he had a concussion. He struggled to lift his head, but when he finally did, the world was on fire. It crossed his mind that he almost preferred the cold concrete.

He struggled to push himself up, but his efforts were for naught as he collapsed back to the sidewalk with a painful grunt. Trying to place exactly where he was and whether or not this was a dream, Aizawa stayed down, going over what he remembered last. It was... winter. So that explained the snow, but it mixed so seamlessly with the ash, maybe it wasn't snow. No, it was too cold not to be.

There were streamers and cheap noise-makers littered across the street and sidewalk; confetti, a bloody sash that read Happy New Year! New Years. That's right. He had agreed to go out with...

An immeasurable pain shot through Aizawa's chest and then through the rest of his body as he tried again to get up and find her. "Fukukado!" He shouted. His legs felt on fire as he tried desperately to pull them out from the rubble. "Fukukado!" When it was clear that he had no chance of escaping without help, his gaze darted all around him, searching for some sign of her.

She was just beside him. Seconds ago. No, he didn't know how much time had passed. But she was just here. Holding him. Giving him grief over midnight. "You're gonna kiss me, right?" She grinned cheekily.

"That's a hard no." he lied.

Because he was going to. Even though he wasn't fond of PDA. Even though he had never budged from a platonic stance between them. Even though he enjoyed playing her games. He was going to surprise her.

It took a student's life ending, but he was starting to understand that if he wanted something to happen, he had to make it happen. There was no point in waiting for things to fall into place. There was no guarantee of tomorrow.

So he had played coy when she asked and he gave her the answer she expected, but as the seconds drew closer to midnight, he made her gasp, pulling her in close. He took her chin delicately in his fingers and allowed her bright eyes to pierce into his for as long as she wanted. He felt her breath on his lips as they mutually leaned into each other. And then...

"Ms. Joke! Answer me!" His trembling voice shouted again. It occurred to him that he was bringing more attention to himself and that perhaps this wasn't the wisest thing to do, but he had to find her.

=/=

"Dad! Dad, you've gotta get up! Come on!" Todoroki had collapsed to his knees and was desperately called to his unresponsive father. "Damn it, old man! Stand up! You have to stand up! You have to fight!"

Endeavor remained motionless as his son did everything he could to revive the fallen hero.

"Watch you back, kid!" One of Endeavor's fellow pro-heroes growled at the vulnerable teen.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but only one fell from his blue eye. "Dad..." he sobbed softly as the reality of this loss weighed down on him.

Endeavor was far from perfect. As a hero. God knew as a father he failed in every way possible. But a part of young Todoroki always hoped for a chance for things to change, for his father to change. That would never happen now.

"Look out, Shoto!" He heard another voice cry out to him.

His eyes shot up and his one warning was a single sentence growled, "Get back!"

In the seconds that followed, with power he had never displayed before, Todoroki unleashed his vengeance with both bitter cold and engulfing flames. The polarized bursts of energy took out everything around him indiscriminately. His skin was frost bitten and burned simultaneously. He could smell his skin cook. He could hear his limbs crack. The only thing was... he didn't feel a thing.

=/=

All-Might stood horrified, looking out from his balcony. He had never felt so useless in his entire life. Quirkless child and all. This retired symbol of peace. This renowned hero, looked upon the state of his world and felt utterly worthless.

Screams rose from below. Maniacal laughter. Gunshots. Fire burning. Pleas for help. These sounds brought literal, actual agony to every fiber of All-Might's being. He covered his eyes and a terrible scream tore from his throat. His feeble fist slammed into the railing in front of him, making no trace of a dent at all.

"What was the point?" He sobbed. "What the hell did I work for?" He heaved a strained breath and coughed up a handful of blood. "Nana," his voice shook with the rest of his body. "Why did it have to be this way? All-for One was right. I... I led the world to this, letting them place all their hope in me. It's my fault... I never should have..."

"FEAR NOT, CITIZENS!" a young, but powerful voice rang from the television just inside.

"Midoriya?" All-Might whirled around in surprise.

The last he checked, the screen was full of static. Now, there was a picture of hope shining artificial light into his living room. Dawning no hero costumes, young Midoriya, Iida, Ochako, Kirishima, and a pair of floating gloves that All-Might knew to be Hagakure stood posing bravely before the camera, with a pile of tied-up villains at their feet.

"WE ARE HERE!" Five voices declared as one.


	23. Chapter 23

"Everyone! Villains! Our hero brethren! The quirkless allies in this world!" Iida boomed like the natural born leader he was. A hand shot to his chest then out toward his companions, "Take a good look at what you see! We are heroes and we are still standing! We are **HERE**! "

Hagakure's voice followed, ringing out clear as a bell as she talked with her hands to guarantee people understood she was there. "We've taken a lot of hits tonight. So many have fallen, but that isn't a reason to give up! It's time to rise! It's time to shine brighter than ever! Show the world that we **ARE** here!"

Kirishima pumped his fist into the air and brought it down strong as he declared, "We may not be ready. We may have so much left to learn and so much growing to do in power and basic fundamentals, but we don't have a choice anymore. There's no more time for second guessing! We've gotta stand up to evil and let 'em know, **WE** are here!"

Ochako planted her feet firmly and shouted next with every ounce of strength and passion inside her, "We are the generation who watched All-Might our entire lives and together we will carry on his legacy. So don't give in! Don't give up on us! Because **We. Are. Here.**"

Midoriya, stepped forward as his turn to speak arose. His hand balled into a determined fist at his side as he stared into the camera, "WE," he threw his hand out similar to the way Iida had done, acknowledging his classmates, "Together, all of us, we are the heroes who still stand! Look to us as the many pillars of your symbol of peace! Because we won't stop! We won't give up without a fight!" The rumble in his voice was unlike any his friends had ever heard, "So, I implore you! Please! Please, don't give up on us! Because we are **STILL** here!"

With that, Iida nodded to the man behind the camera and with the tap of a button, the broadcast signed off. "We are tremendously grateful for your help!" Iida took charge, stepping forward thanking the man. He was a civilian who worked at the station and had taken refuge there. During the students infiltration, they kept him safe then recruited him to record their message.

As that conversation carried out, Midoriya collapsed forward, catching himself by clapping his hands to his knees. He stayed bent forward, arms braced to keep him balanced. "I can't believe this worked," he gulped for air, finally having even just a moment to breathe. "I wonder how many people we reached."

"I'm afraid it's not going to matter if we can't figure out a way to contain the villains we bring down." Ochako lamented, uncharacteristically pessimistic. "Like Kirishima said, we can't just take lives. It'd be the easiest coarse of action but it's like... the biggest thing that separates us from them."

Hagakure sighed, "If only Creati were here. She could probably make the stuff to build a makeshift cell."

Just then, the sound of Midoriya's ringtone clang through the room. He jerked up straight and dug in his pocket, whipping it out. Seeing the name, he gasped. "It's All-Might!"

Similar sounds of suprise and relief echoed from the students. Hagakure waved her hand and asked, "Can you put it on speaker?"

Midoriya nodded and answered, doing so, "All-Might? You're on speaker. Are you alright? Are you safe? Todoroki sent a text saying he could come help anyo-"

"Easy, kid. Slow down. I'm fine," he paused briefly, "for now, but that's not what I'm calling for. I just hung up with Naomasa Tsukauchi. He and a dozen or so members of his precinct were not hit by the initial wave of villains attacking the Japanese police force. He doesn't have much but he's sending what reinforcements he can over to you, so just hang tight."

Another round of appreciative, surprised gasps filled the room. "Thank you so much, All-Might. We really didn't have a plan past the broadcast." Midoriya softly confessed.

"You damn kids," they could hear the frustration in his voice as he was cut off by a fit of wet-sounding coughs. "If I was even half the qualified teacher I'm supposed to be, I'd lecture all of you for being reckless again and running headfirst into danger." A heavy silence weighed on the room as All-Might sighed heavily into the phone and paused. After a long ten seconds, he added, "But I should be the one thanking you."

"All-Might," the name fell from Midoriya's lips barely above a whisper.

"Listen to me, all of you. What you did tonight, it may not seem like much now, but every single one of you is going to be remembered for that broadcast. History is going to remember that moment as an unexpected flare of light just when darkness almost swallowed us whole. And even if somehow... if we do lose this battle... and no one remembers... if no one... if no one else was inspired or shaken or lifted by words, I want you all to know that I was. And... and that I've never, EVER, had a prouder moment in my entire career as a hero than I was watching you all bring hope back into the fold." The man had to stop and taken an uneasy breath. "Kirishima. Ochako. Iida. Hagakure. Midoriya... thank you. Thank you for the honor of being my students."

"Hey, now, All-Might," Kirishima tried to sound light-hearted, but his wavering tone gave him away. "You sound like you're tryin' to say goodbye. Don't start talking like it's the end, alright?"

A noise that clearly embodied how taken aback he was was shaken out of All-Might. He hadn't meant for his words of farewell to be so obvious. He had no intention of ending his life on purpose, but the way things were going, he had just embraced the possibility that he may not make it out of this one alive. There were plenty of villains out there who would be after his head.

"I-I didn't mean t-" his unfinished thoughts stammered out before he could pin them down with anything substantial to say, which was just as well as they were cut off by his successor.

"We're going to make it through this, All-Might," the green-haired boy spoke with the same fire he had during the broadcast. That same lit fuse of determination burning through his words. "All of us."

Softly, All-Might scoffed a short, breathy laugh. "Of course you are."

"No, All-Might." Midoriya returned firmly. "All of us. We need you."

Following Midoriya's vulnerable proclamation, All-Might heard a slew of encouraging and uplifting words shouted in the background.

"Yeah, Teach! We can't let this be the end."

"For real! You've still gotta help me perfect that move you promised!"

"You've got this All Might."

"We need you, sir!"

All at once, worth crept back into All-Might's weathered being. His heart leapt to his throat and he was barely able to choke out a response at first. "Thank you. Thank you all." He couldn't hold in the overwhelmed sob that wracked through him. "I'll see you soon then. Be strong." His strengthened his voice to say, "Now get out there and give 'em everything you've got and watch each other's backs."

"Yes, sir!" The students said together.


	24. Chapter 24

"Deku! You sneak son of a bitch! You think you won, don't you!" Bakugou's yelling shook the world around them as the red-eyed boy put all his weight down on Midoriya, using his burning hands to squeeze his classmate's throat. "You think just because you helped that bitch kill me that you won! You think because you helped face off against the league that it erases what you did! But you didn't and it doesn't! You took a cheap shot and you MURDERED me. You sneaky bastard. Do you know how many lives I could have saved? What do you have to say for your pathetic self?"

Somehow Midoriya managed to squeak out a strained and tearful plea, "Kacchan, please! I didn't mean to!"

"Tck," Bakugou tightened his grip. "Fuckin' figures. You're just gonna cry again, huh? Cause that's all a worthless Deku is good for; pissing and moaning and stealing lives. Bra-fuckin-vo." A harsh, vulgar sound escaped the back of his throat again. "And they call you the next All-Might."

As the heat from Bakugou's hand intensified, Midoriya begged him not to do this, that he was sorry and that he'd trade places if he could. None of that seemed to sway the red-eyes from their vengeful rage. Without a trace of remorse of hesitation, Bakugou activated his quirk with his hands still tightly wrapped around Midoriya's neck. The blast came in an instant, swallowing the world in white.

"Ahhhh!" The green-haired boy jerked away with a scream. His eyes darted around the room until he realized he had dozed off, sitting up in his bed at the UA dorm hall.

Though he sighed in relief that it was just a dream, the comfort in that lasted but a moment because, dream or not, they seemed to be a fixed part of his life now. Every single time he dozed off, Midoriya saw Kacchan. He was always angry. Always led by an urge to end Midoriya. He needed to talk to someone, anyone about these disturbances, but... with everything else that had been going on, his problems felt so irrelevant.

The New Year's attack had only been resolved for less than a month. The actual fighting and martial law conditions lasted two and half weeks. Another four weeks would pass before life in Japan, at least in their district, returned to something resembling what used to be normalcy.

Between the lose of Shiketsu campus, the toll of students and teachers from both academies lost during the fighting, and just the overall coming together of heroes throughout the whole ordeal, the entirety of Shiketsu's students and faculty integrated to UA. There was some resistance from the families and a select few students who were against being uprooted from their homes, but in time, everyone saw this as a positive change. In fact, as they entered their second week of the first semester, it actually seemed to be exactly what many of the students needed in order to move forward.

Among the list of casualties Minoru Mineta and Koji Koda were lost that night. Fumikage Tokoyami, as well as teachers, Ken Ishiyama and Ectoplasm were taken down later in the week. Shoto Todoroki was hospitalized, having gone beyond the limit of his quirk that his body could handle. He was stable, but in recovery for intense burns and frostbite.

But the heroes were not the only ones with fallen numbers. Much of the hierarchy of the League of Villains met their end. The threat was contained, but both sides suffered immeasurable losses. The old world was gone and it was grim way to get there, but the new one that rose from the ashes was something of a clean slate. It was a new beginning for a whole new generation of heroes who would work together to uphold the virtues of hopes of humanity, rather than all of these things place upon the shoulders of one person.

/=/

All-Might was asked to fill in the role of class 2-A's homeroom teacher while Aizawa took a leave of absence. Aizawa and Ms. Joke were found very near each other and while he was discovered with an albeit faint heartbeat, it was more than the silence they found in her chest. Aizawa had never been the most optimistic person but since he woke up and learned her fate, something inside him plummeted. The school board told the grieving teacher to take as much time as he needed to recover physically and emotionally.

Classes had officially been going for about two weeks when All-Might was surprised in the teacher's lounge by one of his students. He saw her cautiously slip in, scanning the room before spotting him.

"Uravity. Is there something I can do for you?" He asked, remaining seated.

Her eyes wandered about the room, noting several other teachers present. Her steps brought her oddly close to the retired hero and when she spoke her voice was oddly quiet. "Can... can I talk to you for a minute, sir? I have something I can't... I'm not going to be able to keep to myself, but I don't know what to do and I don't know who I can bring it to."

All-Might rolled his chair back a few inches, "Sounds pretty important. Here, take a seat." He pulled another chair over for her to sit. "I've noticed you've been tardy a lot in the mornings since school started back up. Is everything okay?"

The young girl's arms were stiff and straight, fists pressing down on her knees. She dipped her head low and small droplets fell from her eyes, wetting the back of her hand. "Not... not really." She sniffed and clear her throat. "Before... **right** before Bakugou was... before he..."

"Oh," All-Might said aloud without meaning to. He reached out and placed an reassuring hand over hers. This was bigger than he thought. "It's alright... I know what you mean. So, before... **that** happened...?"

Ochako nodded and slowly lifted her gaze, her voice growing even softer if that was possible. "He and I, umm... w-well... we had... um... sex."

"Grk!" To catch the blood that abruptly sprayed out of his mouth, All-Might shot his closed hand up to his face.

A startled shriek erupted from Ochako and acquired the attention of the other teachers for a moment. "Eek! I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean t-"

Grabbing a tissue to clean the blood from his mouth and hand, All-Might waved his hand. "It's fine, it's fine. That was just... not what I was expecting." Her brown eyes filled with shame and that look leveled her teacher as he realized she misunderstood. "Not to say that I'm disappointed, it's perfectly natural, considering... all the things there are to consider." He hated how awkward this was. Why of all people would she feel he was the person to come to? This was most definitely not his area of expertise.

"Maybe, but... we didn't... use anything." Her gaze darted back down and her throat visibly tightened as she clearly did not have the conviction to say the words aloud.

Finally putting it together, All-Might's expression dropped and his shoulders fell. "Oh, Uraraka," he said sympathetically. "Oh, sweetheart. Are you...?"

The smallest, most pathetic sound of confirmation slipped out of her throat as she nodded, "Yeah."


	25. Chapter 25

All-Might brought his hands up as a sweat bead ran down the side of his face, "H-Hey, it'll be alright, Uravity. This doesn't have to be a bad thing." For all that he didn't know what to say, the words were tumbling out oddly naturally.

Ochako wrapped her arms around herself, shaking. "Can you even call me that anymore? Can I even still be a hero? I'm so scared. I have so many goals. So much to earn and provide or already. How am I going to help my parents if... if..." She jerked forward involuntarily and cried into her hands, no longer caring who in the teacher's lounge was listening or aware of the situation. "God, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

"U-uh... Uravity, come on. Of course, you can still be a hero. I mean, uhhh... look at... that is... uhhh," Yeah, he'd definitely hit his limit of what he knew to say in this scenario.

To his relief, one of his far more experienced colleagues had overheard what was happening and made her way over. "Ochako," her stern voice was anything but comfort to the young teen's ears.

Slow and reluctant, Ochako raised her tear-stained face and as expected, found Midnight's hard expression glowering down at her. "I expect more from you as one of our most promising."

"I know, I'm so sorr-"

"Stop apologizing!"

Ochako flinched away from the dominatrix-clad teacher, rolling her chair every so slightly closer to All-Might's weak form. As if he could protect her.

On instinct, Ochako went to apologize again, but bite her tongue. "I-... I just don't know what to do, ma'am. My career is over. I'm a disgrace to the school."

Taking the girl and All-Might by surprise, Midnight's fingers grabbed Ochako's face with savage force, making her look at the strong, overpowering woman. "Stop." She said, her voice still firm, but less razor sharp. "You have no reason for all this self deprecation. You are better than that. You're stronger than that. Do you understand me?"

"Um... yes, ma'am?" Ochako squeaked softly, her cheeks smooshed in, lips resembling those of a fish.

With a vaguely annoyed sigh, Midnight released the girl, "Look, UA is not going to abandon you for this. Considering this is a school where the best of the best go, you're all incredibly driven and motivated students, but... most of you are in peak physical form, but unfortunately, you've still got those pesky teenage hormones raging. So, this isn't exactly something we've never dealt with before. In fact, I'd say in the years I've been here as a teacher, on average we deal with about two or three pregnancies a year. " Midnight cocked an eyebrow at Ochako and added, "Though, students **usually **wait until just a little further into their second or third, but... c'est la vie, right?"

Ochako sniffed and rubbed her eye with her wrist. "Wait, so... so I'm not in trouble?"

Seeing her colleague look at Midnight like he didn't know either cause the R-Rated hero to scoff. "You didn't read anything they gave you regarding UA protocol did you?"

"I... read most of it!" All-Might argued, crossing his arms defensively.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to Ochako. "While I can't speak for any other areas of your life, but as far as UA is concerned, no. No, we'' support whatever choice you make; and if you do decide to keep the child, you won't be excused from _everything_, but you'll be able to make up for the physical lessons after the child is born. You'll also have access to some of the world's best medical program. Generally, if both parents are UA students, we have a special program for them to take together, regarding parenthood as a active hero, but..." Midnight cleared her throat and moved on, "Anyway, the point is, there's no need to fret, either way, UA is on your side, Ochako. You won't be expelled. You're not going to be shamed. We're not interested in continuing any cycles that isolate and subject women to standards that do not apply to the young men who are just as much responsible."

"That's right," All-Might finally jumped back in, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Our job isn't to shame or scold you. We're here to help you reach that dream of becoming heroes."

"Thank you," the girl finally managed to smile.

Midnight nodded, "So do you know what your plan is? Do you plan to keep Katsuki's child?"

Suddenly Ochako's mind flashed through series of what if scenarios. What if Heroine hadn't killed him? What if he had survived the New Year's attack? What if he was still here? What would he want? Would he be standing next to her, holding her hand, facing the UA staff together? Would she still be alone? Would he blame her? Tell her to get rid of it? Would he have been happy? She didn't honestly couldn't say. Had she not experienced what she did with him, the answer would have been very cut and dry, very crystal clear. But that last day they spent together. Those final twenty four hours... she really believed that she was watching him grow into someone she would have been proud to make a baby with.

With such intense emotions overwhelming her heart - relief, remorse, anxiety - tears sprung to Ochako's eyes once again. She'd lost track of how many times this had happened recently. But this time, unlike so many others, she understood why. She knew EXACTLY why. The reason floated out from her throat as sobs wrecked her. "Katsuki." She called hopelessly. Just wishing he was here. Just for a second. Just so she could know.

In a rare departure from her dominant persona, Midnight bent her knee and pulled the girl into a strong embrace. "You can do this, Uravity. He's gone, but you're not alone."

Ochako clung to her teacher. She might have hesitated, might have shown restraint, had she not been so emotional. Everything she had heard since she walked into the teacher's lounge was exactly what she needed to hear and nothing she expected. For the first time since she found out about the life within her, Ochako truly felt like everything was going to be alright.


	26. Chapter 26

After reading the same sentence from his hero notebook for the ninth time, Midoriya pinched his eyes shut and gave his messy green locks a shake. He wasn't ready to face Kacchan tonight so he was doing damnedest to keep awake by studying his old notes. The call of nature struck him, which was convenient, actually. A little walk to the restrooms would help him wake up. While he was there, he could take the time to splash some cold water on his face as well.

As he pushed the bathroom door open, he was surprised to hear a shower going this late. He'd checked the time before he sauntered out of his room and it was close to a quarter after two in the morning. Minding his own business, he went to the stalls and did what he came to do. After flushing, but before washing his hands, Midoriya passed the showers. He had to pass them to get to the toilets, too, but he wasn't particularly looking. This time, he swore he heard a sob beyond the wall that gave some privacy to the open showers.

"Hello?" His kindly and concerned voice cut over the sound of the running water as he stepped around the wall.

That's where he found Kirishima. Sitting with his back pressed to the wall, just barely within range of the shower he had blasting a cold stream from. Even so, the gray gym shorts and black t-shirt he wore were soaking wet. His legs were crisscrossed, elbows resting atop his knees, hands on either side of his head, grasping his bright red hair. His entire body was shivering.

"Kirishima!" Midoriya launched forward, slapping his hand on the lever to turn the water off. He rushed to other side of the wall where the free-use towels were stored and snatched three. One by one, he unfolded each towel and draped them over his classmate's trembling shoulders, hoping multiple layers would help him warm up quicker.

The faux redhead did not look up. His shivering aside, he didn't even move. He was breathing erratic, like he was having some kind of panic attack. Midoriya could hear him occasionally grunt or swallow hard, trying to catch his breath. Not knowing what else to do, the green-eyed boy squatted in front of his classmate and offered some friction to Kirishima's arms, rubbing them over the towels. With any luck, he was providing both some physical reassurance, as well as, warmth.

"Wh-wh-wh-why are y-you do-oing this?" Kirishima still had not raised his head, giving the sound of his voice a sort of boxed resonance. "Why don't-t you ha-hate me? I-it's all m-m-my f-fau-fault."

Midoriya's throat tightened, his voice almost strangled. "Kirishima." The boy sprung up, his bare feet pushing the rest of his body forward until his knees connected to the wet floor. His arms enfolded his classmate's mess of red hair and he pressed his forehead down against the back of Kirishima's. "Kirishima... how could... why would you even think that? I thought we went through this."

Frantically, Midoriya's mind flew back to that conversation. The one they had while walking home in the snow. He recalled Kirishima blaming himself then. He remembered trying to say no, but Kirishima cutting him off, going on about how, yes, it was his fault. How, yes, Bakugou's death was a result of his relationship with that vile woman. How he regretted so deeply that the last memory he had of Bakugou was punching him and telling him to leave. But...

'_Oh, god... did I ever actually tell him that it wasn't his fault?_'

A pang of guilt hit him hard. Especially after all the kind and comforting words Kirishima had offered him when he expressed the exact same dread. Did he really offer no words of encouragement? He said... he told Kirishima to bring their shared troubles to him so that they could work through them together. But... no... Midoriya could not bring to mind a memory of telling Kirishima straight out that in no way was Bakugou's blood on his hands.

"Kirishima, I need you to look at me." Midoriya pulled away, keeping his hands on Kirishima's arms. He spoke with newfound conviction as he absolutely had to dispel this absurd notion from his friend's mind. The mop of red lifted so painfully slow and reluctantly. Crestfallen crimson eyes met earnest emerald. "You, are not, to blame," Midoriya stressed every word. "I'm so sorry I didn't say this before, but it's not your fault and no one blames you. How could we? Like you said, she had her claws in both of us. We were weak... but it wasn't our fault."

As these genuine words tumbled out of his mouth to convince Kirishima of his own innocence, Midoriya couldn't help but allow them to reverberate back onto him and absorb into his mind and heart. That's when it clicked. That's when he suddenly understood the reason why he couldn't shake those nightmares of Kacchan blaming him, terrorizing him, fighting tooth and nail to end him. The Kacchan in his dreams wasn't really Kacchan. The Kacchan in his dreams was Midoriya's manifestation of his own hatred for himself. The guilt he carried. The belief that Heroine may have shoved the blades into Bakugou's body, but Midoriya was the one truly at fault. The dreadful worry that he let it happen to get Kacchan out of the way.

"No," he uttered aloud, tears streaming down his face. No longer really seeing Kirishima. "It wasn't our fault." He sobbed and took a hitched, shaken inhale before dropping his head. "It wasn't out fault." The words felt so good to say, so good to hear, to feel, to accept.

_"All-All-Might was-was right... giving you his power."_

Kacchan did not blame him.

_"You deserve it, got that?"_

Kacchan did not resent him.

_"Don't you dare slow down, do you hear me?"_

There was no hate burning in those red eyes there at the end.

_"Earn it."_

He forgave him.

_"Earn this."_

Kacchan **forgave** him.


	27. Chapter 27

'_Damn it, I didn't think morning sickness meant all hours of the morning._' Ochako lamented internally as she rushed through the UA dorm halls. Her hand slapped over her mouth as she struggled to keep herself from throwing up before reaching the restroom.

She was almost there, too, when she could no longer hold it down. It all came retching out right outside the girl's bathroom door. A groaned rolled out from the back of her throat as she held her stomach with one arm and braced herself with the other, gripping her pant leg at the knee. Her curled fist shook as she caught her breath. Knowing it didn't make a difference now, she spit out a mouth full of excess saliva, as well.

"Uraraka?" A small, anxious voice uttered and drew her attention to her right.

The girl gasped and her body shot up slightly. A pair of deeply concerned and oddly damp male classmates rushed to her side.

"Oh," she breathed, "Hey, Deku. Kirishima. I-" she was cut off by another wave of nausea and she turned back to aim for the mess she already made, but there simply wasn't anything left to come up. As a sense of vertigo took over, Ochako lowered herself to the floor, pulling one knee up, the other leg folded next to her.

Both boys joined her on the floor and Midoriya began asking a slew of questions. "Uraraka, are you sick? Did you eat something that'd gone bad? Do you need some water? Are you going to be able to attend class?" Before she could answer a single question, he jumped up, "Here, uh... Kirishima, you stay with Uraraka. I'm gonna get something to clean this up."

"Oh! No, Deku! Deku, you don't have to do that!" Ochako called to him, but he was already sprinting off.

He flashed a smiled over his shoulder, one she hadn't seen since they lost Bakugou. "It's fine, I got this, Uraraka!"

Seeing that warm, familiar glee in Midoriya's face stirred a tender feeling of hope and happiness inside Ochako's chest. Except she couldn't find any words at the moment to express that or her appreciation so she stayed quiet and just offered a thankful nod. These feelings of gratitude and comfort expanded within her as Kirishima rubbed her back gently.

The faux redhead couldn't bring himself to actually say anything, though. He didn't want to step over any lines that he didn't know about. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if he was doing the right thing by touching her at all. After that talk with Midoriya, Kirishima did feel loads better, but he still wasn't convinced that the rest of the class shared the green-haired boy's forgiving nature. Especially when it came to Hagakure, Kaminari, Jiro and Ochako, the ones who had seen first hand how he treated Bakugo that night he snuck Heroine into his dorm. And it wasn't just Bakugou he disrespected, but all of them and he had no way of knowing how much resentment they were actually still carrying over that.

Uraraka rotated her head a little so that she could smile at him. It was a weak and tired smile, but still. "'Hey," she began, gently. "Why are you and Deku all wet?"

"Ahh, uhh... It's a long story, heh." He grinned, poorly disguising how flustered he felt just imagining that conversation.

Just then, like an actual god-send, Midoriya returned with a small armful of cleaning supplies and got to work. Ochako started to protest, but Midoriya held up his hand. "Just let me fuckin' do it, okay?" Despite the harsh technicalities of his word choice, the tone he used was perfectly genuine Midoriya-sweet and his smile was wholesome as ever.

Kirishima and Ochako shared a look, before the girl accepted with a sigh, "Alright." A few beats passed before she spoke again, "Actually... I'm really glad that both of you are here. See, uh... I'm going to make an announcement in class tomorrow morning, but... I think it's right that you two are the first in our class to know."

Midoriya continued cleaning, but divided his attention between his task and Ochako. "Is there everything okay?" He asked, slightly worried.

Keeping his hand against Ochako's back, Kirishima slowed the pace of his soothing back rubs as a terrible feeling of dread filled his heart and twisted his expression.

"Yeah," the girl answered softly, but with an edge of slight optimism. "Yeah, everything is going to be fine. I just... um... gosh, there's really no... elegant way to put this so... um... I'm pregnant." A painfully obvious forced smile fell over her face. "And it's... Katsuki's."

Both boys froze still, absurdly wide-eyed. "Wh... wait, how is that... wait..." Kirishima tried and failed to convey a full thought as the dots just refused to connect for him.

"It uh, just happened once, the night before he... he died, actually." A small laugh escaped her as tears filled her eyes. "We kept saying it wasn't going to be anything, but... up until that last fight," a small sob choked her, but the smile she put on never wavered. "We would say one thing and just... couldn't seem to-" Something between another sob and a strangled laugh cut her off again. "I'm sorry," she chuckled, rubbing her eyes.

"Don't." Midoriya shook his head. "Don't apologize, Uraraka. There's no reason for it."

She pinched her lips together tight, smiling sadly and nodded as tears cascaded down her face. "Anyway, so... yeah. UA is fine with it and... they're even offering to help however they can. My parents aren't... thrilled, but All-Might came with me to tell them after school today and they're supportive. I still have to tell Katsuki's family, though... and our class, obviously. But..." she sighed heavily, voice returning to one more level and steady. "I'm so happy I get to tell you two first since you were both so important to him." Several moments passed and neither one of her classmates said a word. "Oh, jeez, you guys. One of you, please say something."

Kirishima, who had pulled his arm away from her at some point, looked at her with an expression that was difficult to decipher until he blurted out, "Can... can I hug you?"

"Oh... um, yeah." She answered, taken aback, that feeling intensified as the words barely left her lips before his embrace knocked the wind out of her. "Oof!"

He held her for a long time and just as she was getting ready to ask if he was alright, Kirishima abruptly pulled away and shot of a bunch of questions. "Can I be Uncle Kirishima? When he gets his quirk can I help train him? What kind of quirk do you think he'll get? Oh, can I teach him how to shave? Do you think the distributor for our costumes could make a little baby one of mine?"

Laughter like she hadn't experienced in a while rang from Ochako, bringing a smile of adoration from Midoriya. "Well, we don't actually know the gender of the baby yet, so... why don't we take it one step at a time?" She grinned and added, "And I was thinking Uncle Riot, actually."

Kirishima gasped, obviously loving it. "Yes!" he beamed. "Uncle Riot it is! Holy shit, I'm so excited."

Well, that was one perfect reaction. Ochako turned her attention to Midoriya with an expectant look on her face. "So?" she asked hesitantly. "What you think? Uncle Deku?" Her voice trembled slightly saying that. It wasn't the role she wanted for him, but it was too selfish to ask him for more than that now. Even if he did try to kiss her at New Year's, she couldn't ask him to take on the role of her partner when that also meant taking on the role of a father to a child that wasn't his. So Uncle Deku it was.

Midoriya couldn't contain how touched and moved he was by her gesture. A shaken breath escaped him as his smile brightened once more. "I think that's perfect. I'm so happy for you, Uraraka." He didn't move in to hug her like Kirishima, but instead, hurried to finish cleaning the mess. When all the sick and trash was tossed into a garbage bag, Midoriya rose and asked, "Hey, so... I know it's late, but... can the two of you come back to my room for a little while?"

"Sure, man. I'm not going to bed anytime soon after hearing this." Kirishima looked so happy.

Ochako nodded, "Of course, Deku. What's up?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "I just wanna talk about Kacchan."

With bittersweet smiles they couldn't shake, Kirishima and Ochako's accepted Midoriya's request and made their way back to his dorm room. For the next few hours, the three of them just shared stories about Bakugou. Funny, inspiring, frightening. It didn't matter. None of them realized it until then, but all three of them had avoided his memory best they could since they lost him. But that night as the hour grew later, they allowed themselves to laugh and cry together as they remembered so fondly the friend they all desperately missed, the friend they all dearly loved.

As the conversation drifted back and forth between memories of Bakugou and musing over what his baby would be like, Midoriya was the first one to begin slipping into sleep. His friends asked several times if he wanted them to leave, but each time he assured them he was fine and that he was just resting his eyes. Eventually, he didn't respond when Ochako whispered his name.

"He's out," Kirishima said with a smile. "Good thing too, I don't think he's had a decent night's sleep in a while." The hardening-quirked hero said gesturing to the dark circles around Midoriya's eyes.

Ochako smiled also and worked with her classmate to carefully cover Midoriya with his blanket. "Have you noticed?" Ochako asked in a hushed voice as they made their way to the door. "The little... well, quirks of Katsuki's that Deku's picked up?"

Kirishima's mouth fell open and he whsipered back, flicking Midoriya's light off. "Shut up. I thought I was imagining it. He **has** been acting like Bakugou, right? Just little things, but... it's there, right?"

There was just enough light spilling into his room from the window for Ochako to get one last look at her sweet, slumbering friend. "Mhm," she hummed in response, lingering in the doorway. "I don't even know if he realizes he's doing it." She let Kirishima pass her, but still didn't move yet. Partly to Kirishima, but more to herself, she sighed and said, "I don't want Deku to go anywhere, but... it's hard not to appreciate a reminder." Her hand instinctively pulled to her stomach as she joined Kirishima and her other hand shut the door on her way out.


	28. Chapter 28

A fairly narrow range of emotions erupted from Ochako's class as she stood before them and announced her pregnancy and the details surrounding it. Narrow, but genuine and strong. Everyone, excluding Kirishima, Midoriya, and All-Might, looked incredibly shocked. A few of her female classmates teared up with bittersweet smiles. Then an out pour of overwhelming support and encouragement was flung at her from every direction.

"Congratulations, Ochako!"

"You've got this, girl!"

"When's the baby shower?"

"You're gonna be a great mom!"

"I can't wait to see the baby Bakugou!"

"Think it'll have his temper?"

"Does anyone know how to make a diaper cake?"

"We're here for you, Uraraka!"

"What kind of powers do you think it'll have?"

"Whatever you need!"

"Do you think we could have a nursery in the dorms?"

"We've got your back!"

Even the students who had joined the class recently, filling in the spots of those who had recently been taken, were strangely enthusiastic and on board. It took a considerable amount of time for All-Might to regain order in the classroom. As their friends and classmates yammered on about the this new development, Ochako an Midoriya's eyes met and their content, though somewhat sad, smiles reflected each other's.

"Right!" All-Might's voice boomed, startling the teen beside him. His hand clapped down on Ochako's shoulder as he went on to say, "Now, Uraraka will not be joining us in class today, as she has errands of her own regarding this matter, to tend to. So let's wish her the best and get on with our studies!"

A muddled blend of goodbye's and good-luck's were said simultaneously by her nineteen classmates, bringing yet another confident and touched smile to her face. She bowed and said, "Thank you, guys. I'll see you this afternoon."

As she made her way out, she couldn't help but notice the difference in Midoriya's expression compared to everyone else's. He looked like he had something on his mind, something he desperately wanted to say, but couldn't. Maybe when she returned to the dorms later on they could talk about it.

**/=/**

Ochako knocked twice and waited for what felt like a long time. She began to think maybe Mr. and Mrs. Bakugou were not home. Which would make sense. It was the middle of a weekday and although working from home wasn't unheard of, she doubted the parents of someone like Katsuki would pursue such withdrawn and introverted lifestyles.

Just as she turned and started to step away from the door, however, it opened slowly. "Can I help you?" Katsuki's father, Masaru stepped out from the house and winced as the sunshine caught in his eyes.

"U-uh, hello, sir." She whipped back around to face him and bowed. "My name is Ochako Uraraka. I-uh... Katsuki and I were-"

"Ochako. Of course." His warm smile and familiarity with her name took her by surprise until he said, "You fought Katsuki in the UA Sports Festival last year."

"Right!" She shot up, slapping her palms together cheerfully. "Yes, that's me!" Realizing her enthusiasm many have been slightly inappropriate, she cleared her throat and continued, taking on a more serious tone. "Forgive me for coming over unannounced, but I was hoping to speak with you and Mrs. Bakugou."

With a gentle nod, Masaru stepped back and held the door open for her. "Come on in," he offered a small smile, "Though, word of the wise, don't call Mitsuki, Mrs. Bakugou. She'l likely take your head off cause she says it makes her feel like an old hag."

"O-oh, okay." Ochako laughed nervously as she entered the Bakugou home. She stopped and removed her shoes at the door.

Masaru vaguely gestured to a room on to the right and said, "Make yourself comfortable. I'll get Mitsuki."

Walking into the room, the first thing to catch Ochako's eye was a small alter set up against the back wall on a chabudai. There was a framed picture of Katsuki, that had another, much smaller picture tucked in to the corner on the outside of the glass, next to the frame rested his jagged-edged, orange and black Ground Zero mask, and in front of those two items were a lit candle and a burning incense.

Ochako pressed her palm to the floor to balance as she lowered herself to kneel in front of the alter. She closed her eyes and interlocked her fingers, bringing her hands up close to her mouth, saying a silent prayer for the boy's spirit. In the smallest whisper, she breathed against her hands, "Katsuki, if you have any strength to lend..."

Her eyes opened to look upon the two pictures in front of her. The larger, framed photo was relatively recent. She could tell because even though he wasn't smiling, there was none of that deep seeded rage he always seemed to have when she first met him. She couldn't even say he was scowling. The closer she looked, Ochako noticed that the very far edge of his mouth was turned up. It didn't appear he was necessarily happy about the picture being taking, rather he was humoring someone reluctantly. Ochako assumed that person was his mother.

The much smaller photo that was tucked into the frame's corner was appropriately sized as it depicted a much younger Katsuki. Ochako guessed he was... four? Maybe five? His toothy grin took up most of his face, reaching ear to ear and crinkling the corners of his eyes. His palms out and up, the way she remembered him holding them when he was showing off his quirk. The camera did not catch any indication of his sparks, but she was sure that's what he was doing.

Without thinking, Ochako reached forward and picked up the tiny photo. A wistful smile touched her face as she tried to picture herself at that age and blend the two images together. She wondered what traits of his their child would inherit. The red eyes? His ash blonde hair? His narrow build? That goofy grin she never saw herself?

"That was taken the first day he showed signs of his quirk." Even though the voice was exceptionally gentle, the fact that it came out of nowhere startled Ochako who yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up to find Mitsuki standing beside her. "Sorry to scare ya," she smiled, gingerly taking the old photo out of Ochako's hand. She brought it up close to look at. There were strong traces of both pride and grief etched in her face as she stared at the picture in silence for some time. "He was so excited that his quirk turned out to be something so powerful and... what do the kids say today? Extra?" She laughed softly and was careful to slip the picture back into the frame's corner.

As Mitsuki walked over to sit on the couch, which faced the alter, her husband returned with a tray carrying a tea pot, three cups and some biscuits. "Would you like some tea, Ochako?" He asked, taking a seat next to his wife.

"I'm fine, thank you, sir." The girl pushed herself up to stand and took a seat opposite of the couch. "I've been uh... little finicky with foods and drinks lately." An awkward silence fell, probably not as awkward for them as it was for her. For some reason, this was the hardest conversation she'd faced yet. Even her parents weren't this difficult to tell. "So um... how are you two?" She couldn't quite bring herself to just get to the point the way she had every other time thus far.

"Some days are harder than others." Mitsuki nodded, answering honestly. "I'm afraid you didn't catch me on my best. That's why I'm home right now, but... the company I work for has been very understanding, fortunately." Ochako noticed the married couple go for each other's hand's at the same time. Her eyes darted back up to Mitsuki who spoke again, "It gets a little easier when I try to think about what Katsuki would want and," she huffed a laugh through her nose, "Just thinking of how that brat would shout and curse at me if he saw me crying and useless... Well it keeps ya from slacking off, you know?"

Ochako wasn't sure if she should laugh but an uneasy chuckle escaped her. She could only imagine the vengeful spirit Katsuki world make. The endless eye rolls and screaming of insults. Without meaning to, her eyes fell on Mitsuki and Masura's hands again, still linked tightly. A sad smile touched the teen girls lips. " It's wonderful that you two have each other to get through this."

They smiled at one another, then his father looked at his son's classmate, "What about you, Ochako? You were a friend of Katsuki's, right? He never had a whole lot of positive to say about too many people, but he mentioned you a few times."

Her mouth fell open involuntarily. "H-he did?"

The man nodded, "Well, in all fairness, he was mostly ranting about people who underestimated you. He went on about how he didn't know if they were blind or just stupid for not seeing you for the fighter you are."

"Oh," her voice shook, "Wow." She swallowed the lump in her throat and didn't even try suppressing the smile creeping to her lips. "Thank-thank you for telling me that." They returned her smile warmly and between that and her newfound strength, straight from Katsuki himself, she found the courage to edge into why she came here in the first place. Her gaze fell to the empty space between them. "Now, there's... something I need to tell you." She had their full attention and they patiently waited for her to say whatever it was. "I... I'm going to have a baby... Katsuki's baby," she started slowly, but once the brunt of it was out, she quickly added, "And I don't want anything from you. I'm not here to... collect or... blame or... anything like that. I-I just... I just thought you should know."

The silence that followed was unbearable. It was a strong and physical ache in her chest, arms and throat. Any moment now, she knew, an eruption of denial and rejection was coming. She was sure of it. Any moment, now.

Finally, she looked up and was shocked once more by the reactions she faced. Mitsuki has a hand over her mouth, silently weeping as tears flowed freely down her face. While Masaru smiled beside himself, also sporting a face damp with tears.

"Are you serious?" Mitsuki tilted her head, face twisted with so many emotions, hand still over her mouth. "Katsuki's... really?"

Ochako nodded. "I... know if things were different, this wouldn't be an ideal situation, but... I can't bring myself to not want it. I feel like this happened for a reason and, and I just hope so badly that you're okay with it because I am so scared, but I'm so happy." Her voice began to crack at the end, so she decided she had made her point and stopped talking.

Mitsuki and Masaru looked at each other, having a silent discussion with their eyes and facial expressions Ochako couldn't read. Masaru was the first one to speak, "Give it to her," he said gently.

Nodding, Mitsuki stood up, catching Ochako's eye, she said, "Excuse me," then she walked out of the room.

"'Wh... what's going on?" The girl asked vaguely distressed by the sudden air of mystery.

Masaru removed his glasses and wiped his eyes and cheeks with his forearm. He used his shirt to clean the tears off his glasses as he began to explain. "You've passed the Provisional Hero License Exam, haven't you, Ochako?"

"Um... yes?"

"When you pass, they set you up with a... website or a program or something to record voluntary messages to be sent out to your loved ones if you're killed in action, right? I'm sure you know this, having gone through the same procedure Katsuki did." Masaru struggled with how to describe what he was referring to.

Ochako knew. She remembered very clearly. They were described to her as 'precaution farewells'. Because she and the rest of her peers were still underage, if anything happened to them, their messages would be sent to their parent or guardian, who would then distribute them at their own discretion. After the young heroes came of age, the messages would be sent straight out to the recipient individually.

She remembered talking with the girls in her class about that part of the process. Admiring the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of it, but still vaguely put off by the whole thing. It wasn't the most encouraging or celebratory activity to follow gaining their hero licenses. But, obviously it was necessary. She personally lost track of how many messages she recorded, but after the one time she did, she never went back to add or change anything, which was an option. She didn't even think of it again until now.

Mitsuki returned with a paper envelope that was sealed on one side with clear plastic. Inside was a compact disk with a white sticker slapped on it that read** OCHAKO URARAKA** in black letters. The grieving mother held it out to the young teen and waited for her to take it.

"We weren't able to watch it. Every message is password protected with a question. I'm sorry we didn't get it to you sooner. It's been... and we didn't know what it could possibly say. He didn't have any others, but that one and the one he recorded for us." Mitsuki explained apologetically. When Ochako's trembling hand took the disc at last, the woman got down to the floor and bowed. "Forgive me."

Holding the last words Katsuki left for her, Ochako found she could not speak. Even if she knew what to say, the tension in her throat and urge to cry was too strong. Her body slipped down from the chair where she sat and joined Mitsuki on the floor. Not knowing what else to do, she tried to console the woman with a touch to her arm. When Mitsuki looked up and embraced the young woman carrying her grandchild.


	29. Chapter 29

The sun was just beginning to set as Ochako returned to the Heights Alliance dorms. She was flagged down by several of her classmates who were hanging out in the common area. They asked how her day went and if she'd gone to seen Bakugou's parents.

"I did," she confirmed with a pleasant smile. "It went really well. They're excited and completely supportive and want to be as involved as possible."

There was a small celebratory response and even more congratulations from her sweet classmates. She didn't tell them about the disc she was given. It wasn't something she was eager to share with anyone. At the very least, she needed to watch it first, alone, and even after that, she knew Bakugou would have never appreciated her sharing such private and personal thoughts with everyone.

So Ochako politely answered the first of what was sure to be many rounds of questions regarding her and Bakugou. The first opening she got, the young hero-in-training excused herself, saying that she was feeling pretty tired after such a big day. It wasn't a lie, either. Errands aside, that was an emotional charged day.

Upon arriving at her room, Ochako pulled grabbed her laptop from her desk and sat down on the bed, cross-legged with it on her lap. She slipped her bag off her shoulder and dug through it, pulling out the envelope that had the disc inside. She stared at her name for a moment, taking a deep breath. Close as she was to knowing what Bakugou had left for her, Ochako struggled to bring herself to actually play the thing.

What if it was something bad? She couldn't think of anything logical or concrete, but nothing positive he'd have to tell her came to mind, either. Not knowing was scary, but at least there was some safety in the uncertainty. She clung to that security blanket for a few more moments, until...

_'He never had a whole lot of positive to say about too many people, but he mentioned you a few times.'_

Her hand slipped into the enveloped.

_'...he was mostly ranting about people who underestimated you.'_

It pulled the disc out, her finger and thumb holding the edges, careful not to smudge it.

_'He went on about how he didn't know if they were blind or just stupid for not seeing you for the fighter you are.'_

She popped the disc tray of her laptop open and pressed Bakugou's farewell message into the slot, then shut it.

_'He didn't have any others, but that one and the one he recorded for us.'_

The first thing to pop up on the screen was a trademark logo for the distribution company of these official farewells. It faded into the window's black background and a question reappeared in it's place, along with a space to type an answer. The question read:

**WHAT IS YOUR NAME?**

Unfamiliar with the protocol of these messages, Ochako, at first, assumed that this was just part of the sign in process. So she typed in her name, only to receive an** ACCESS DENIED.** She tried again, using her given name first.** ACCESS DENIED.** Just her Ochako? **ACCESS DENIED.** Just Uraraka? **ACCESS DENIED.** Maybe it was caps sensitive? **ACCESS DENIED.** Both names, no space? ** ACCESS DENIED.**

Ochako was beginning to lose patience. She glowered at the computer screen, her hands reached out in frustration like she wanted to wring the thing's neck if it had one. A small angry growl rumbled from the back of her throat. "Come on."

Just then, a tentative knock came from her door. "What?" She shouted back sharply on pure instinct as she kept her attention on the puzzle before her.

"U-um... Can I come in?" Midoriya's hesitant voice inquired just outside the door.

"Fine," her tone remained jagged as she leaned back on her arms, the screen still showing the words **ACCESS DENIED**.

As he came inside, Midoriya wore a questionable expression. "Ehh, everything okay in here, Uraraka?" He asked nervously, shutting the door behind him.

Her lips pursed and eyes wide in aggravation, she flung her arms stiffly at the screen. "'I can't get into this stupid program."

"Hm?" He leaned over the screen to take a look, but the angle was no good for seeing anything but black. "What is it?"

At her wit's end with the thing and desperate for whatever thinking out of the box Midoriya might have to offer, Ochako explained, "Apparently Katsuki recorded one of those official, hero farewells for me. It's password protected with a question and I can't get in."

"Oh," Midoriya stood up straight, sounding both surprised, but also thoughtful. He paused for a moment, hands in his pockets and added, "Can I ask what the question is?"

"What is your name?" She answered crossly. "What kind of weak question is that? At first I just thought it was part of signing in, but... yeah, I don't think so now. It would have worked by now. I've tried everything I can think of."

Midoriya thought a moment. Then he laughed through his nose and looked at Ochako. "Did you try typing in any of the nicknames he had for you?"

Very slowly, Ochako's face lit up. Her mouth open, a small smirk crept at the edge of one side. "That son of a..." Her fingers drummed against the keyboard. Round Face?** ACCESS DENIED**. One word? **ACCESS DINED**. Pink Cheeks, one word. **ACCESS GRANTED.**

"Ooh, that asshole." She growled through a triumphant smile. Her gaze briefly shot up to meet Midoriya's, "Thank, Deku."

As soon as she entered the correct password, a video of Katsuki appeared on the screen. The light from his computer illuminated him and some of what was in the background. He was obviously in his room. He looked tired and a little disheveled, wearing the same t-shirt he wore the night they played spin the bottle with their friends, the night they...

She gasped and glanced at the time stamp. Sure enough. Bakugou literally recorded this right after she left his room that night.

"Hey, Pink Cheeks." The sound of his coarse voice nearly stopped her heart. It had only been a few months since she heard it, but somehow, it felt like the first time in years. The boy on the screen rubbed the sleep from his face, then smirked at the camera,"Guess you're comin' around to that bein' your name if you managed to get into this." He paused and his gaze fell. "Look, I uh... I've only made one other of these for my folks. But uhh... and I know what I just said, what we both said when you left just now, but... I-, there's things I wanna say that I don't think I'll be able to in person." He sighed heavily and stopped again, still not looking at the camera, rubbing the back of his neck.

Taking advantage of the drawn out pause, Midoroya asked, "Sh-should I go?,"

Ochako's eyes shot over the screen to look at his. She didn't know the right answer but as Bakugou began to speak again, she shook her head no and gestured for him to come sit beside her and he didn't need to be told twice.

"Fuck... I don't even," Bakugou looked straight at the camera again, his daunting gaze piercing both Ochako's and Midoriya's. "I don't know why I'm doing this, but that's par for the course, lately, since I can't say I've understood anything I've done for the last hour," he snorted, "Shit, the last semester, really." He sighed heavily and looked away from the camera, his cheeks turning the slightest tinge of red, "You uh, asked me if- you asked me a question just now, I don't know if you'll remember by the time this has any reason to get to you... but if I haven't already told you, the answer is no. I've never done that with anyone before. I'm... sorry I was a dick about it. I should have just told you, but..." he sighed again. "I'm working on that."

"Oh, Kacchan." Midoriya couldn't help but let slip out as he watched his oldest friend slowly bringing his walls down.

"And since we're on that note," the boy with explosive blonde hair continued, "Thanks for noticing that. You know, that I've been trying. It's hard as fuck to keep up, and not knowing if it's worth the effort, if anything has changed, well it's made it that much harder. So when you- it helped a lot when you said what you did tonight, that you and the others in class **have** noticed."

Ochako made a small noise and covered her mouth. Catching this, Midoriya asked, "Are you okay?" She only nodded.

Another exceptionally long pause went by as Bakugou appeared to be psyching himself up to say whatever was next. "Y-you're... you're really special, Uraraka." He stammered through at first, but once he said it, the words were confident and strong. "You're stronger than anyone gives you credit for." His eyes trailed back to the camera. "And I just wanna say that, what happened tonight means something to me. It might be stupid or maybe it makes me an old-fashioned loser, but I wouldn't have done that with you if I didn't care... if I didn't trust you, you know? Ugh, God, I'm probably going to delete this cause I sound so fucking sappy and stupid. And it's not like I'm going anywhere. But... Just... Don't... Don't think that... Ugh fuck. I just wanna say that... No matter what happens now, even if that was it and everything stays the way it's always been; As far as I'm concerned you and I are part of each other. Forever. And..." A heavy disgruntled sigh rumbled from him. "And I'm glad it was with you." He looked down again. "And," he cleared his throat. "And if you **are** watching this, I guess... I guess I did bite the big one. In which case, just fuckin' tell Deku how you feel about him, already, alright? This may come as a shock cause you're just as dumb as he is, but he's got a thing for you, too." He hesitate a moment, then added, "Just make sure you don't get in each other's way of being the best."

This time Midoriya made the same small noise. His eyes wide. Without taking her eyes off the screen, Ochako asked, "**You** okay?"

"Yeah," he answered weakly.

Bakugou had sat thoughtfully for a moment, then snorted. "Shit, I guess now I gotta make one of these for him, too... probably Shitty-Hair, also." He shook his head and those sharp red eyes bore into Ochako's soul again. "Thanks for that, Round face." His tone playfully indignant and the longer he looked at the camera, the more his gaze softened. "Thanks," he said again, but with such incredible and undeniable sincerity in his voice. He smirked again, then reached forward and hit stop.


	30. Chapter 30

Ochako and Midoroya sat in silence, staring at the screen which continued to hold on Bakugou's face. When Midoriya looked down, he found that at some point during the video his and Ochako's hands interlaced. He didn't know who reached for who or when it even happened, but neither of them was letting go.

"Do you think he meant all that, Deku?" Ochako was the first to speak.

"I do." Midoriya answered earnestly. "Kacchan was a lot of things, be he sure as hell wasn't a liar."

Looking at him at last, Ochako smiled faintly as she slipped her hand out of his. "Thank you for helping me get this opened. I didn't even realize how much I needed to hear all of that."

Midoriya hesitated, "Well, of course, that's what I'm here for, Uraraka, to help."

A small, nervous chuckle rolled out of her throat. "Yeah, I know."

"No," Midoriya shook his head and suddenly grew very serious and very forward. "No, I don't think you do." Ochako gasped as he climbed off the bed and pulled her computer away, taking her hands in his. "Uraraka, I… I want to be the one who is always there to help you. Lean on our classmates as much as you need, let others be there for you, too, but... please, come to me first?"

"Deku, I-"

"Please, let me finish?" He asked pleadingly. She paused a moment, but eventually nodded. He took a deep breath and went on, "Let… Let me, let me... fill that role for Kacchan. I want to hold your hair when you're sick in the mornings. I, I want to be the one you ask to run out and break curfew for you at three AM for a carton of ice cream or whatever cravings you get. I don't want to be in the waiting room with the rest of our class when you're having… him or her. I want to be there. I want to hold your hand the whole time. I… I never want to let it go. I know he… or she isn't mine, but I want to be everything you both need."

Tears filled Ochako's eyes and Midoriya held his breath. His life hung on what those tears meant. Then Ochako brought one of Midoriya's hands to her cheek and nuzzled into his palm. "I want that, too, Deku. All of it. I just couldn't bring myself to ask because I didn't think you'd want… I didn't…"

"I do," he cut her off, his thumb tenderly stroked her cheek as he pressed their foreheads together. "I do," he repeated in a whisper.

Her touch was hesitant and ginger as she placed her hands upon his shoulders and dared to brush her lips against his, not quite kissing him, but spelling out very clearly that he was welcome to do so if he wanted. Not a moment later, their lips were locked and their bodies melted into each other. As he held her, Ochako just kept thinking about how warm and strong Midoriya's embrace was and how, in a word, he felt like home.

=/=

"You know the student's only have about half a quarter of school left. It'd be nice if you could come back, even for just the finals. They all still ask about you, you know." All-Might had not stopped talking since he got Aizawa in the car.

The homeroom teacher of class 1-A never did come back to his position. It remained unfilled, All-Might acting as his official, now-extended substitute. The staff and his students alike, sure that he would return sooner or later. But he didn't. He had taken to barely surviving, but by no means living.

That day, when All-Might showed up unannounced and hauled him Aizawa out of his own home, the frail remnants of the world's number one hero, had prepared for a challenge. The old Aizawa would have protested, would have put up some kind of fight. All-Might at the very least expected to have to coerce his colleague a little bit, but there was nothing and that in itself was almost more painful.

Aizawa complied with zero interest. He didn't even ask where they were going. He didn't inquire about the students he and All-Might shared. There was nothing. He'd answer when All-Might asked certain questions, but that was the extent of it. Several times All-Might tried to get a conversation going, but nothing ever stuck and they always just ended up right back in silence.

This changed, however, when the car stopped and it was in front of a hospital. There was a twinge of fear in the former teacher's face when he looked at his fellow retired hero. "What's happened?" His words brimmed with dread.

"Come on," All-Might flashed a look of reassurance and climbed out of the car. When Aizawa refused to move, the taller man sighed and walked around the car to open his passenger door. "Don't be a spoilsport. It'll ruin the surprise if I tell you now. Which, to be fair, wouldn't be a surprise if you checked your messages or even watched the news once in awhile."

Suspicious, but well aware that he could trust All-Might, Aizawa frowned and stepped out of the car, then followed his colleague into the building. A look of deep confusion twisted his features as they entered the maternity ward. Upon reaching a specific room, Aizawa had to do a double, triple take at the name on the door. U. Ochako.

"I don't understand," he sounded just as bewildered as he looked.

All-Might grinned at him, but said nothing as he drummed his knuckles on the door.

"One second." They both barely heard Midoriya's happy, but hushed voice through the door. When it opened the teacher's were greeted by a mess of green hair and a pair of tired eyes lighting up to see them. "You made it." He softly exclaimed, holding the door open and stepping aside to make space for them to enter. "Come in, come in. Try to be quiet if you can, Uraraka just fell asleep."

Walking in, Aizawa's gaze trailed down to find a small bundle resting against Midoriya's chest, held in the boy's scarred arms. The former teacher's mind was scrambled to catch up mentally as he stepped into the room, followed by All-Might. Ochako Uraraka was sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed and there were cards and flowers and plush toys taking up a vast majority of space.

One particular detail caught his eye. A large banner with the words: Welcome, Baby Bakugou!

"Ba… Bakugou?" Aizawa turned to Midoriya, confused again.

Midorya's turned his own confused gaze to All-Might. "You didn't tell him?"

The former pro-hero turned teacher wore a sheepish grin and held up his hands to shrug. "Heh."

"You idiot" Aizawa huffed, shooting him a weak glare. He looked back to Midoriya, "So... Ochako and Bakugou...?"

With the purest and proudest smile, Midoriya nodded, "Mhm. Aizawa Sensei, meet Natsuki Bakugou. Look, she's got his hair and everything" The boy held the baby out carefully in such a way that Aizawa could see the details of her face.

She was so small and peaceful with plump cheeks and a surprisingly full head of ash blonde hair. Her unbelievably tiny fingers stretched, then made a fist around Miidoriya's finger when he slipped it into her palm. The look on Midoriya's face when she did so was one of pure, undiluted, wholesome joy and unconditional love. Anyone who didn't know any better would have assumed that the child in his arms was his.

All-Might clapped a hand to his colleague's back. "Well? Was it worth the trip, Aizawa?"

Midoriya looked up and smiled at his teacher, "Would you like to hold her, Sensei?"

"May I?" Aizawa asked. He didn't show any great enthusiasm, but there was life returning to those dark and distant eyes.

"Of course." Midoriya grinned and so very carefully placed the baby girl in Aizawa's arms.

For hours the three men talked, mostly All-Might and Midoriya caught Aizawa up on the lives of his students. They were very close to finishing out their second year at UA and everyone was doing so well. Everyone had been an incredible help throughout the pregnancy and it had only been in the last few hours that their dozens of guests had finally gone home.

Eventually, Midoriya accidently fell asleep, sitting up. Aizawa continued holding the baby as he and All-Might went on talking quietly.

"There's this idea, the kids have been going on about for the past six months. I think it was originally Yaoyorozu who pitched it to the others, but they've all latched on." All-Might began.

Aizawa listened, now fully present and aware and almost… keen to hear what it was. "None of them want to separate after graduating and they're talking about finding a pro-hero to endorse them in starting their own hero agency. It's obviously still in the works at this point, but I think they're gonna go for it. They want to stay together… since they've more or less become this sort of tight knit family unit, you know?"

"That does sound," Aizawa started to say, pleasantly, but was cut off.

"Oh and they've been playing with names like 1-Agency or 1-A Agency. I keep telling 'em the first one is better, but you know, kids." All-Might paused briefly and started up again. "Oh, and also the logo. They're talking about the name being in orange against a black background and a sort of explosion-looking cloud thing, with an orange border... in memory of Ground Zero."

"Obviously." Aizawa muttered, subconsciously bouncing the baby. "I think that's… that's really wonderful and I hope they can make it happen." His gaze lifted from the child in his arms to the two young teens on her birth certificate. He sighed and shook his head. "One year."

"Hm?" All-Might raised a curious eyebrow.

Aizawa looked his colleague in the eye and said, "I'll come back for one last year, see these kids off and graduated, and then I'm done." He looked back down at Natsuki. "I think that's fair."

"I think it is," All-Might agreed. "They'll all be thrilled to hear it, let me tell ya."

"Thanks, Toshi. Really. Thank you." Aizawa spoke with genuine gratitude. "You may not be All-Might anymore, but you're still saving people.

=/=

Winter arrived again and the students of UA were preparing for finals once more. Still, as the old saying goes, evil never sleeps, and thus Izuku Midoriya rarely ever slept. Despite his already overbooked schedule, the boy stumbled into the Heights Alliance dorms building at a quarter past midnight. He passed right over the showers and kitchen, even though he was hungry and sweaty.

It had been a very long and trying night. One of those unfulfilling nights as a hero when he just couldn't save everyone he set out to. Times like this were easier to bare when he came home and held one of his girls. The chances of Uraraka being awake at this hour were slim to none and he didn't want to wake her with finals approaching.

He and Uraraka shared a bedroom, leaving a room open for Natsuki. The class had devised a system where they took turns every night keeping the baby monitor in their rooms. Between the nineteen day rotation, no one ever got baby burnout.

When Midoriya opened Natsuki's door, he found he was wrong. As it just so happened, Ochako was in possession of the monitor that night. Together, mother and child dozed, rocking back and forth in the creaky chair as Natsuki nursed from Ochako's breast.

Hearing the door open, Ochako opened her eyes just enough to make out who had joined her. A tired smile touched her face as she wearily held her hand out for his. "Did you just get in?" She whispered.

He knelt down beside her and kissed his girlfriend's temple. "Yeah," he answered softly, then looked down to see Natsuki's eyes were wide open. When he spoke again, Midoriya allowed a bit of volume in his voice. "It was a pretty nasty standoff tonight at town hall."

The room was a bit too dark to assume Natsuki had seen him, but upon hearing his voice, the three-month-old pulled away from her mother's breast and began looking around. Ochako laughed softly, "I think someone missed you."

Going in to retrieve the babe from Ochako's arms, Midoriya smiled warmly. His fatigue didn't go anywhere, but his voice turned light and cheerful. "I missed you, too, baby girl. Come here, honey."

"Here," Ochako stood up and offered the chair to her boyfriend.

"Thank you," Midoriya rose painfully, his scrapes and bruises from the night taking their toll as his body move from the floor to the chair. A small groan escaped him then he said, "Uraraka, why don't you go and get some rest. I've got her."

"Deku," Ochako spoke with the tiniest laugh behind her words. "You're the one that needs to get some rest." She brushed the hair away from his eyes and added sympathetically, "You look terrible."

Resting his head back a moment, he sighed and lightly said, "I don't feel much better." Right away, he sat up straight and held Natsuki under her arms so he and the child were facing each other, "but it's not like I can slow down." His voice turned overly sweet, "No, I can't. Daddy can't slow down, can he? Huh, baby? Can you tell me who's the strongest smartest little girl at UA? Who is it? Is it you?" He feigned a gasped and pressed his lips to her cheek, kissing several times, "Is it you?"

As much as his gentleness with their little girl warmed her heart, Ochako had to speak up, "Izuku," she cut in with a serious tone, placing a hand on his arm. "What are you talking about? That's the whole point of us raising the baby here, so we can have help so that we have the option to slow down when we need to."

Had he not been so exhausted, Midoiyra probably wouldn't have so casually confessed. As it was, he shook his head, almost drunk-like and slurred, "Mm-mm. It's not enough. Promised Kacchan. I'd earn what he did for me. He died protecting me so the least I can do is live for the both of us. Look'it me. Haven't even... got the villain that took 'im, yet. She's... still..." his words trailed off as be began to drift off.

"Oh, Deku," Ochako's voice rang with heartfelt compassion and shock, but she wasn't going to argue with him. Not now, not in the barely conscious state of mind he was in. There would be no point.

But she was glad to hear the truth of what had been pushing him so much. It made a lot of sense that he would take Bakugou's last words to mean he wasn't allowed to pause. Obviously she couldn't speak for Bakugou, but there was no doubt in her mind that Midoriya had it all wrong. She didn't think their fallen friend would have wanted Midoriya to burn himself out.

He was doing enough already. He was enough already. And if it took their whole lives, she was going to prove to him that he was worthy of the life Katsuki Bakugou saved. There was a reason for his survival and he had earned a life he could enjoy.

Midoriya had almost fallen completely asleep, when he woke with a start. Natsuki was resting her head upon Ochako's shoulder now. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

Ochako leaned down, her fingers threaded through the mess of sweaty, green hair and despite that, she placed a kiss against his forehead. "Go get some sleep, Deku" She smiled softly. "You've earned that much."

**=EPILOGUE=**

"Right. Yep. Okay, okay we'll see you then. I love you. Mm, bye." Midoriya pressed the END CALL button with his thumb and looked up. "Mom's running late, but she said she'll be home within the hour, so we'll still be able to eat dinner together."

A festering, blonde ball of teenaged angst stared sat on the nook in the kitchen and stared out the window. The sun was setting, painting the sky an unearthly orange as it took it's time fading to black.

"Mm," was the only sound he received in response.

"Come on, now. Let's take a look at your scrapes." Midoriya crouched down and inspected the girl's head injury. "It's already looking better." He smiled, trying to catch her eye. When she refused to look at him, the green-haired hero sighed. "I know that you're frustrated, but sweetheart, you really do have to think before you go throwing yourself into fights when you're that outnumbered."

Her honey-colored eyes squeezed shut and when she spoke her words were laced with the vaguest hint of agitation. "I know, Daddy. I just... I couldn't just stand there and let that man get mugged. He was quirkless," she shot up a hand, "and I know, I know that doesnt make him helpless but he... he looked so scared. I should have been able to help, but I wasn't and they weren't even villains! Just some random street thugs."

"You're only fifteen." Midoriya reminded. "It's not your job to save the world yet, honey. Not yet anyway. Me and your mama, and Uncle Riot, and Aunt Tsu, and Uncle Shoto... we've got this for now. You just have to be a kid."

As he rose to stand, she jerked her attention away from the window with a deep scowl. "And what about when none of you are there, huh? What then, Daddy? What FUCK am I supposed to do when there's no one else there? When no one else is coming? I can't just stand still. Not if I can do something to help!"

When she got like this. Natsuki sounded just like her father. Not her daddy. Not the man who raised her; the one who made her, the one she was the spitting image of. At times Midoriya and Ochako couldn't help stop, mid-scolding to step away and gush over the similarities. Still, they did make an effort to at least keep her from going full Bakugou.

"Language," Midoriya reminded gently.

Natsuki rolled her eyes then looked at her hand. "I need to get stronger. " she affirmed, making a fist. "I'm going to get to the top, just like you. I'll be the biggest number one hero the world has ever seen and I'll do it saving as many lives as I can! I won't leave anyone behind!"

Maybe it was lazy, premature, nepotism, but a part of him always knew. He always thought about it. From the day she was born, he thought about it, but in that moment, during that sunset, Midoriya didn't have a doubt in his mind. He was many, many years away from retiring, but he was always the one with a plan.

"Nacchan," he walked over to their kitchen table and pulled a chair out for her, "Come sit with me. I'm gonna tell you exactly how we're gonna make that happen."

THE END

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**Author's Notes - Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who stuck with this. I hope you enjoyed the story I had to tell. It means quite a lot that so many non-Kacchako fans powered through this. I've received some incredibly touching and inspiring messages for this piece and I'm eternally gratefully for those words of encouragement. This 40,000+ word fanfic all stemmed from that blurb I used in the story's description. The idea of Katsuki dying in Izuku's arms, telling him that he accepted All-Might's choice to give Izuku One-for-All, but that he was going to have to step up in order to deserve Katsuki literally dying for him. Everything else sprung from that and I really do mean it when I say this piece took on a life of its own. I had no other plans beyond that one scene, but holy hell has it been a great ride. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for the love. I've thought about maybe continuing, maybe writing a much shorter piece, following a little bit of what life would be like for Nacchan growing up raised by a bunch of heroes for her family. But we'll see! Take care you guys, let me know what you thought! Is there something I might have missed that would have liked to see? You're why I'm here, after all, so let me know! **


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